The Blood of a Hunter
by Celetest13
Summary: "Soon Hope Mikaelson, you are going to be reunited with your family and when you do, you will finally be home." When Dean and Grace escaped hell, they never expected to bond with the supe's they had been trained to kill. It shouldn't be so surprising, after all the Mikaelsons and the Winchesters share one thing in common. Family is everything. (Set during TO S4)
1. Lazarus

The paper was worn down and torn from the past three and a half years it had been kept in her possession.

When she was younger, she had her mother read it to her every night before she went to bed. It was a story to help her sleep. But now, halfway through her fifth year, Hope Mikaelson had memorised the letter word for word.

Letting out a deep breath, she glanced out of the window towards her mother, who had stopped the car for gas, before she slowly unfolded the letter to read it once more.

' _My dearest Hope._

 _I do not know how this will find you. As a child full of wonder, a teenager full of opinions, or a woman with the world at her feet. I write to tell you that I love you, and to explain that in our family's darkest hour, I was called upon to save my siblings, and so I did._

 _Please, do not mourn me. Whatever pain I endure, I do in service of those I love. My sole regret is that I will be away from you.  
_  
 _Be good to your mother. I draw comfort knowing that she will protect you. And I know she will not rest until our family is united... until then, my sacrifice will allow you to grow. To become the beautiful daughter I can now only imagine._

 _Please remember that you are the legacy this family has always desired, the promise we fought to protect._

 _You are, and always will be...our hope.'_

Tears pricked her eyes as she let out a watery smile.

Her mom had told her stories of her family. Of her dad: the brave king who had fought valiantly to protect his daughter since her very first breath on this earth. She was told the stories of her aunts and uncles, who had stood side by side, during her dad's darkest hour, to protect their family…

 _Always and forever_.

The letter from her dad and the stories of her fearless family were her source of comfort during their days of impossibility. They were the only things which kept her and her mother from giving up in their efforts to save them.

And they were almost at the finish line. Five of the seven werewolf clans had been tracked down, venom obtained… they had even found a witch to siphon Aunt Bek's curse and cure Aunt Freya's poison.

But once they succeeded in finding the remaining two clans, something else needed to be done. Something else would be needed to bind the venom of the wolf clans; to neutralise the deadly beast bite upon her uncles' desiccating flesh, the poison within her Aunt Freya and the curse degrading her Aunt Beks.

Much to her mom's dismay, Hope had even tried to tap into her powers, into the formidable magic brewing inside her but her control was feeble to say the least. But her mom had no idea what binding agent they needed and Hope could see the strain it put on her with each passing day.

As she watched her mom fill up the tank, the young girl easily noticed the bags brewing beneath the older woman's eyes, the slight slump of her shoulders. Even when they had found some kind of lead, it always felt like they were back at square one.

It was an endless, cycle.

Hope watched her mom release a low sigh and she chewed on her lip hard. She recognised that expression too. It passed over her mom's face every day; she was thinking of Uncle Elijah again… and of her dad… who still lay suffering in unspeakable torment.

Hope turned away from the window. She wanted her family back more than anything and her mom had promised to do whatever it took. But she was beginning to wonder whether it was worth the strain. She just couldn't bear her mom's despair.

Too absorbed in her thoughts, Hope jumped slightly in alarm when her mother suddenly opened her door. "Mom?" she gasped. "What?"

Her mother just placed a finger to her lips and instantly recognising the seriousness of her expression, Hope nodded and exited the car, feeling the midday heat blast onto her cold skin.

She watched her mother crouch down, dark eyes flashing a threatening gold and she moved her quivering form behind her.

The two of them waited, staring in apprehension towards the blurry figures which were stumbling through the trees towards them.

* * *

Pain, agony… that was all she could think about. It was constant and it was never-ending until finally, it did.

One minute she had been surrounded by fire; its lethal touch charring her skin and in the next, she was lying down on something hard and considerably uncomfortable.

It was when she opened her mouth, the terror struck her pounding heart. She couldn't _breathe_. And the surge of survival instinct took over. She struggled frantically; her blunt fingernails clawing desperately at the mud surrounding her, compacting around her body as she dug as fast as she was able.

It took a few seconds until her fingertips broke through the surface. A sharp gasp escaped her parted lips as a sudden hand clamped around her wrist and yanked her up out of the ground.

She didn't even have to glance at the owner before she stumbled into him, wrapping her arms around his neck. His body froze.

"Dean," she whispered softly, a quiet reassurance and he exhaled a breath of relief. His arms encircled her waist tightly in response, his face burying into her hair.

"Grace," he uttered in relief and awe as he pulled back, his hands firmly clasped on her shoulders. "I thought for a second I was the only one who got out - the thought of leavin' you there with that _good for nothing_ _bastard_ …"

"Hey!" Grace put a hand up to stop his rant and grinned teasingly. "No chick flick moments."

Dean grinned fondly in return as he ruffled her hair. "Brat."

"Jerk," she retorted instantly, kissing his cheek before looking around. " _What the?"_ she mouthed the words aloud as she stared, her eyes wide, taken aback by the scene before her.

Two wooden crosses had been embedded in their graves and she cast her stunned gaze over them briefly before spinning around. Her nose stung as she inhaled. Faint wisps of smoke steadily rose up from the ground. A perfect black circle surrounded them. The grass, the trees, every livin' thing within the circumference now nothing except dead and charcoal.

"I don't know Gracie but I'm guessing it's somethin' all kinds of crazy," Dean stated calmly but Grace knew him well enough by now to tell that this was racking him up pretty hard.

It was up to her now to remain optimistic and take charge. Her first priority was distracting him from his emotional state. "Just our average jam then," she uttered, managing a small grin. "Must be Friday."

She scanned the area and seeing a deserted road off to the right her decision was made. She grabbed her brother's arm. "Come on, let's go," she gently ordered. "I don't know about you but I am famished and thirsty as hell."

The two siblings slowly started to make their long trek down the road. The sun blared down on Grace's shoulders as she walked by her brother's side. Feelin' its piercing burn, she shrugged off her jacket and tied it loosely around her waist.

They walked in silence, her brother never one for small talk but she never once complained. Licking her cracked lips, she gave a swift side glance towards him to see his gaze fixed determinedly on the road ahead.

Absentmindedly, she scratched her arm before looking away, forcing her mind to focus back on the situation at hand. It was like a mantra in her head… _one foot in front of the other_ … yet every step needed maximum effort.

She tried _so damn hard_ to ignore the uncontrollable trembling in her knees. All it took was a stray rock in the middle of the road and she stumbled.

A hand quickly grasped her arm, steadying her and she looked up to see her brother's concerned face. "You alright?" he enquired softly.

Grace didn't have to answer and he didn't need her too. Leaning into him slightly, she grumbled, "Please just tell me we are close."

Dean glanced around and his lips tilted up into a small smile. "Well this may just be your lucky day, Gracie."

Grace raised a questioning brow and followed his gaze. A small exhale of relief passed through her parted lips. "Thank God," she whispered before shrugging herself up off her brother. Then straightening her shoulders, she stared at the small building in the distance.

They resumed their endless walk at a pace more relatively faster at the prospect of something actually goin' their way for a change.

"Well would you look at that," Dean muttered, half shocked, half amused as they came into range.

Grace smiled in relief as the small shabby gas station came into view, a truck attached to a moving van parked just outside. Her fingers twitched in anticipation. It wouldn't be too hard for her to hijack the rusty piece of scrap metal and disconnect it from the van. Five minutes tops and they could be out of here…

A sudden shattering of glass burst her ears. She snapped her head to the right but the tenseness in her body subsided as she silently watched Dean reach through the now broken gas station window to pull the door open. Pulling back, he gestured her to follow and she immediately trailed behind.

She walked silently down the small aisle, her gaze sweeping over the items in distaste before zeroing in on the small glass fridge. She found herself immediately standing before it as she reached out and flung its door open. Grabbing two bottles of water she, threw one towards Dean who caught it instantly.

"Sweet," he said and Grace nodded in agreement before unscrewing the cap.

As soon as the liquid touched her lips, she let out a low moan. How long had it been since she had last tasted water? _Long enough to almost have forgotten what the definition of taste even was._ Refusing to follow that thought, she gulped down the bottle in seconds before pouring the remaining droplets onto her hand. She placed it on the back of her neck and closed her eyes.

"Grace?"

Turning towards her brother, she swiftly approached him with her eyebrows raised. "What is it?"

"Lift up your sleeve."

Grace hesitated at her brother's request. How the hell did he know? She stared at him, feigning confusion but emerald eyes pierced hers as he sharply shook his head.

" _Don't_ pull that innocent crap on me."

Grace sighed before hesitantly clutching the material, dragging up her left sleeve. She winced slightly as it uncovered her upper arm where, just below the shoulder, her skin had been in a constant state of burning agony since Dean had pulled her up out of the ground...

Dean closed his eyes briefly and sighed. "What the hell is going on?" he muttered.

"What does it look like?" Grace asked tentatively and in response Dean pushed up his right sleeve. Grace's eyes widened as she gazed blankly upon the bright red, burned flesh, which protruded slightly up from her brother's skin.

Anyone stupid could look at the inflamed patch of skin and know that this was no ordinary injury… after all, burn marks didn't usually take the form of a human _handprint_.

 _This was way beyond their line of work._ Pushing away the disturbing thoughts of what evil entity could possibly be behind this, Grace snapped into action. "Let's just get what we need and get to Bobby's. If anyone knows what crap we are up against this time, it's him."

Dean nodded in agreement before grabbing a plastic bag and filling it with food. Grace strode towards the till and chewed on her lip briefly before opening it. With the unattended cash now safely pocketed, her eyes began to stray towards the left.

Her stomach turned.

In a daze she moved forwards, extending her arms. She picked up the paper with trembling hands, her eyes fixed firmly on the date.

"That's not possible," she breathed.

September. It was _September_. It had been roughly May when they last saw Sammy. It had been May when she and Dean had… Grace squeezed her eyes shut, forcing away the dark memories which threatened to creep into the forefront of her mind and engulf her.

They had been gone _four months_. Fate had a twisted sense of humour.

A small rustling caught Grace's attention and she reluctantly turned to see her brother pluck a magazine off the shelf. Her eyebrow arched. "Seriously Dean?" she lightly reprimanded, unable to hold back her wry humour. "Not even an hour alive and _bam_ , porn magazine in the bag."

"Hey, a guy has needs," Dean defended and Grace gave him a pointed look to which he just smirked at.

She shook her head, inwardly shuddering. "You seriously disturb me." No sister wanted to think about her big brother's _needs_.

Her thoughts were thankfully cut short by a faint noise but the gratitude turned rapidly into vigilance. The sound had come from her right. There was nothing to the right besides the closed door. That could only mean one thing.

Someone, or _something,_ was outside.

Grace reached towards the handle but fingers closed around her wrist. She glanced up to see Dean subtly shake his head. All it took was one stern look from him and realising it was best not to argue, she retreated back.

With a sharp twist of the handle, Grace watched her brother leave the shop and she crouched down, out of sight, listening carefully.

The attack came out of nowhere. Her brother's resounding groans caused her to spur into action. Her hand deftly extended to the right and closed around a sharp piece of glass on the floor. She was immediately on her feet and flinging the door open.

Her eyes widened for a second at the scene which met her. Seein' her brother pinned up against the wall by a pretty woman was somethin' she didn't typically come across every day. Usually, she would have found it quite amusing to watch but she swiftly sprang into action.

"Hey!" she yelled and the woman whipped around. Grace immediately balked at the shining golden eyes before she quickly recovered, her face hardening into something a lot more threatening. " _No one_ hurts my brother but me, are we clear?"

Grace didn't give her a chance to respond before shooting her fist out, her knuckles striking her square in the face. She heard the faint sharp snap of bone.

Using the moment of distraction, Dean twisted himself out of the woman's limp grip before tackling her to the floor.

Grace watched on, her body rigid as her brother pressed his hand down on the woman's neck. By the sound of the subsequent gasps, she knew that her brother had applied just enough pressure to make her feel dizzy but not enough for her to fall unconscious.

Dean outstretched his other hand and knowing what he wanted; Grace threw him the glass shard. His fingers closed around it. He pressed the sharp edge to the woman's neck. "Who the hell are you," he barked. "Who sent you?"

"Are you crazy?!" the woman spluttered. Gold eyes faded back to brown as she desperately argued, "You were after _us_!"

 _"Us?"_ Grace questioned, scanning their surroundings. Seeing no one, Dean scoffed.

"That's likely; you supes will do anything to talk your way out of things." He pressed the shard into the flesh, drawing specks of blood and the woman cried out in agony.

" _Please_ don't hurt my mom."

Grace whipped around on her heel and her eyes widened at the newcomer. She couldn't be more than _five_. Her auburn hair parted down the sides of her round face in waves as she watched the scene in fear.

There was something in her wide sea-blue eyes which caused Grace to falter.

 _Innocence._

Something Grace had not known for a long time.

She already knew the outcome of this fight. Because no matter how hard she would try to convince herself it was the right thing to do, she could never harm a child. As much as she hated to admit it, the girl did not deserve to become an orphan.

Sighing tiredly, she whispered, "Brother, let her go."

Dean gawked at her before his surprised gaze finally flickered over to the child. His eyes closed briefly and he groaned before leaping back to his feet. "You're lucky I'm in an okay mood today," he stated in irritation before turning his back on them and striding back towards the gas station.

Grace leaned back against the side of the van, watching the woman's perplexed expression with a tight smile. "I wouldn't even question it," she uttered. "Just be glad you are still alive for your little girl. We usually kill supernaturals like you on the spot."

The woman got to her feet with narrowed eyes as she studied Grace warily. "Don't expect me to thank you."

Grace raised an eyebrow unconcerned although she had to admit, she was slightly impressed at her nerve. Not many supes were bold enough to even try that with a hunter and _especially_ not with a Winchester. "I wasn't expecting one."

The woman stared Grace down before slowly nodding and making her way towards the little girl who was slyly edging herself closer.

"I told you to stay in the car!"

"I know mom but I don't think she's scary, just cares for her family, like we do," Grace heard the little girl reply shyly and her lips twitched slightly.

Innocent _and_ sweet. Definitely a combination she had not seen in years.

"Grace! Get in here! We have a problem!"

Hearing her brother's urgent gruff tone, Grace whirled around, startling the mother and child as she approached them fast. "You both need to get in the gas station now."

"If you think we are going to do anything you say," the woman began but Grace growled in frustration. She neither had the time nor the patience for this.

" _Look_ , my brother _never_ uses that tone on me unless something _real bad_ is about to go down. I know we didn't get off to the greatest start but you're just gonna have to trust me when I say we're in danger."

"I trust her mom," the little girl responded instantly and Grace was slightly astounded at the wide smile sent in her direction as the young girl tugged on her mother's arm who let out a small sigh.

"Fine."

As soon as the worlds left her mouth, Grace turned tail and pelted back into the gas station. Smokey blue eyes instantly fell on the crackling sounds from the TV, the distorted noises from the radio. She swiftly faced her brother who was sprinkling salt across one of the windows.

"Salt!" she demanded. He tossed her one off the shelf and she followed suite.

"What are you-" the woman questioned but a high pitched screech suddenly pierced through their ears.

The room was immediately filled with agonised yells. The four of them covered their ears to block out the noise.

The windows began to crack.

Quickly realising the intensity of the sound which was steadily increasing in pitch, Grace leaped forwards. She grabbed the girl, dragged her to the floor and covered her small form with her larger body.

The glass exploded.

Grace flinched as stray shards sliced her skin but she never moved, keeping the little girl covered. Then as soon as the sound had started, it had stopped and there was silence.

Groaning, Grace pulled the young girl to her feet but when she made a move to let go, the kid clutched her hand tight.

"Did you hear that?" she whispered and Grace knelt down in confusion.

"Hear what?"

"That voice, it said your names… Grace and Dean."

Grace's face paled but she squeezed the girl's hand reassuringly. "Don't worry, it's gone now." Straightening up, she turned to her brother. "We need to leave," she demanded. "As in _now_."

"Couldn't agree more," Dean replied as he scanned his sister quickly for any serious damage before his eyes drifted over towards the two strangers. "What do we do with them?"

Grace turned to see the woman enveloping the little girl in her arms.

"You okay, are you hurt?"

"Mom I'm fine, Grace protected me."

The woman looked over the little girl's shoulder and dark eyes met Grace's. "Thank you," she said begrudgingly. "I don't know what the hell that was but I know somehow you both protected us."

Grace and Dean glanced at each other before shrugging simultaneously. "It's kinda our thing."

"We _did_ get off to a bad start," the woman stated before hesitantly stepping forward. "I'm Hayley." She then looked down at the little girl and bit her lip. She seemed to be fighting an inward battle before reluctantly adding, "This is my daughter Hope."

"Dean, this is Grace," Dean replied and to his left, his sister nodded once. Stepping toward her, he lowered his voice and muttered, "I'm gonna call Sam and Bobby. Then we need to figure out what the hell just happened."

Grace nodded in response and watched him stride out the station. A short silence followed whilst she debated what to say. She was never good the enlightenment side, that was usually Sammy's forte.

"I'm sure you want an explanation," she began.

"One wouldn't go amiss," Hayley replied and Grace instantly cut to the chase.

"My brother and I are Winchesters."

Hayley froze and Grace's lips twitched grimly at the familiar recognition which flitted over the woman's dark eyes. She wasn't surprised by the reaction. Hayley was obviously a supernatural and the name Winchester held quite a bit of power over her community.

"Long story short, my brother and I have been dead for four months and you just caught us an hour after our resurrection." Grace was quick to clarify. "We don't know how the hell we are alive right now, my brother and I still need to figure that part out but in the meantime, you are probably gonna have to stay with us because the thing that attacked will most likely be back."

Hayley paused, taking in Grace's words whilst Hope watched the conversation with curious eyes. Finally Hayley let out a low exhale. "Well, this certainly wasn't how I was expecting today to go."

Grace snorted. "Tell me about it." Her curious eyes carefully scrutinised Hayley from top to bottom. "So what kind of supe are you?" she wondered. "I have seen demons with yellow eyes but yours flashed golden."

"Demons?" Hayley questioned and Grace sighed.

"You know what, let's talk on the way."

They had a long conversation ahead of them and Hayley, realising that, nodded in acceptance.

"So are we coming with you?"

Grace glimpsed Hope's wide eyes, which were filled with excitement, and couldn't help but grin. "Yeah, Hope. You are."

"Well technically, _you are_ since it is my truck and van parked outside."

Grace laughed slightly at Hayley's statement and Hope beamed, swinging her mom's hand back and forth in her own.

The female Winchester watched the mother and daughter bonding moment with a slightly aching heart. For a moment, she allowed herself the time to think.

Would her life have been as pure as Hayley and Hope's if Azazel never came to Sammy's bedroom that night? What would her life have been like if her mom was never killed?

Definitely safer.

Maybe it wouldn't have been the perfect apple pie life but it would have been pretty damn close. How Grace longed for that life but it had always just been one of those simple fantasies. She was smart enough to know her own reality. A happy end just wasn't in the cards for her… she doubted it ever would be.

Turning away from mother and daughter with a heavy heart, Grace left the gas station and approached her brother who instantly felt her presence and stated in a hard tone, "Sammy's number is disconnected."

"Did you call Bobby?"

"Yep, man hung up," Dean stated grudgingly.

Grace could see the stress and flare of irritation in his eyes as she muttered, "Can't blame him. More likely to be some fanatic shifter than this Lazarus crap going on."

Bobby had always been paranoid. All hunters were. Because it would be so easy for the supes to win a fight if they targeted the weakest part of a hunter.

The _heart_. The bonds of _family_. Hit 'em where it hurt the most.

She leaned against Dean who wrapped an arm around her shoulders, the two of them embracing in a rare moment of comfort.

"So, we're taking them with us." Dean eventually broke the comfortable silence and Grace knew that it wasn't a question.

In response, she rested her head against his arm, closed her eyes and tried to block out the images which crawling out of the darkness and seeping up through the cracks.

Since May, she had undergone unbearable agony in hell with Dean. She had withstood unspeakable things that neither he nor Sam could ever know about.

If they even discovered an inkling of the truth, it would break them. The more Grace allowed herself to think, the more she realised that she was barely holding on.

As the two siblings waited for Hayley and Hope, deep down the fv dark-haired Winchester knew that the two strangers were going to be in it for the long haul, no matter what messy and complicated futures awaited them.


	2. The Night Before the End

Grace Winchester sat curled up on Bobby's worn couch, reading through her dad's old journal. Her eyes skimmed across the pages but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't seem to take the words in.

Not that she expected to.

If there was one thing the female Winchester could never do, it was sit around and wait for the inevitable to happen.

Her body was knotted up in a jumble of nerves, along with a tiny slither of fear which, little by little, was making its way to the surface. After the hell she and Dean had endured last year, Grace thought that she would be able to handle whatever monster lay beyond the horizon but she _couldn't_.

She couldn't because of one simple fact. Tomorrow, everything was going to change.

Tomorrow would be the beginning of the end.

As she absentmindedly flipped through a few pages of the journal, Grace cast her mind back to the night when their lives got even more screwed up than they were to begin with.

* * *

 _She was perched on a table top next to her brother, twirling one of Bobby's daggers in-between two fingers. The abandoned warehouse which they had deemed suitable was covered from head to toe in various symbols. Traps and talismans from every faith around the globe._

 _Bobby had brought all the weapons he owned; stakes, salt, silver, iron, they had practically brought everythin' they had ever used to gank every single monster they had faced in the past._

 _After this Castiel had branded their arms with his handprint and burned out poor Pamela's eyes during their futile attempt at contact, they were not going to leave anything to chance._

 _Sammy, Hayley and Hope had no idea that the three hunters were about to do somethin' this level of stupid. To summon an unknown entity which was their only lead to explaining how they had escaped from Hell._

 _If any of them knew, they probably would have called them crazy. They would have tried to stop them, even Hayley, who they had barely known for just over a day._

 _The hybrid mother and her daughter were currently settling in at Bobby's, completely unaware of what Dean and Grace were planning. All Grace had told them was that the house had been warded, that those wards would keep them safe._

 _Sammy meanwhile, had recently contacted Dean to inform them that he was going to grab some food at some local diner. And although Grace loved her younger brother dearly, she still had this niggling feeling in the pit of her stomach._

 _As much as she tried to suppress it, it would not go away. Sammy had been acting strange ever since their reunion… he was hiding something from them, Grace was sure of it._

 _She was pushed back into reality as she felt the dagger being yanked out of her hand._

 _"Stop playing around, Gracie you could poke someone's eye out with that," Dean mockingly admonished and Grace scowled, raising a condescending eyebrow as her brother stabbed the knife into the table and started twisting it round and round._

 _"You hypocrite."_

 _"Yeah well, we've been waiting for over an hour and I am bored," Dean muttered back before turning his attention to Bobby and demanding impatiently, "You sure you did the ritual right?"_

 _Bobby just stared back at Dean in disbelief from where he was sat on the table across from them and Grace hid a smirk._

 _She loved it when Bobby knocked her brother down a notch. It was always entertaining to watch that ego of his deflate, even if it was only a little._

 _"Why would you even question his actions, brother?" she enquired lightly. "He's a better hunter than the two of us combined."_

 _"Way to be a suck up Grace," Dean muttered in her ear before tossing the dagger away from him in boredom._

 _It was then when it started. Out of nowhere, the shutters on the roof began to bang uncontrollably. A steady grumble of thunder rattled the wood._

 _The three hunters leapt to their feet, their heads simultaneously glancing up to the ceiling where the shutters continued to slam relentlessly against the wooden panels._

 _"Wishful thinking but maybe it's just the wind," Dean voiced but Grace could easily tell from her brother's tone that he did not believe a single word of his statement._

 _Rolling her eyes, she replied, "When is it ever the wind?" before she approached the table and hastily grabbed a shotgun._

 _Crack._

 _The lights surrounding them burst and Grace covered her face in reflex, protecting herself from the sharp shards and sparks which rained down upon them._

 _The front doors of the warehouse swung open, breaking the wooden barricade as if it was made of paper. Standing at the entrance was a man._

 _At a first glance, he looked like an ordinary human with his unkempt dark hair and trench coat but those dark eyes were strangely blank… no not blank... just... disconnected somehow. He began to walk towards them, completely unaware of the sparks which were still pouring down from the broken lights._

 _Dean instantly grabbed Grace's wrist and pushed her behind him, shielding her as much as he could. The three hunters backed away and they watched apprehensively as the man walked past every single symbol._

 _They had no effect on him at all._

 _Raising her gun, Grace didn't think, she just began to shoot. Deep down she knew that whatever supe this man was, he was a powerful one. She really wasn't looking forward to whatever he intended to do once he approached them but it seemed like she would have to prepare herself._

 _The bullets had no effect on him, just like the symbols and subtly meeting her brother's eyes, Grace gestured towards the dagger. Dean quickly dropped the gun and picked it up._

 _The man stared at the weapon with an expression which could almost be described as humour or incredulity before he looked back up to meet Dean's eyes._

 _"Who are you?" Dean demanded, backing away from the man who had come to a halt in front of the two siblings._

 _The man looked at Dean then his eyes flicked towards Grace before replying in a monotonous voice, "I'm the one who gripped you both tight and raised you from perdition."_

 _Grace's jaw dropped open._

 _"Yeah, thanks for that," Dean replied, rather ungratefully, before stepping forwards and plunging the dagger deep into the man's chest._

 _The man froze, glancing down at the dagger and Grace pulled her brother back a few steps further, unease curling in the pit of her stomach. The man was not crying out. Something was very wrong with this situation._

 _She watched agape as he gave the two of them a challenging look and pulled the weapon from his chest with apparent ease. He dropped it to the floor where it landed with a faint clatter._

 _At the sound, Bobby grabbed a crowbar, raising it to attack but the man spun around sharply. He stopped the hunter's efforts with one hand before slowly placing the other against his temple._

 _He pulled away._

 _Bobby crumpled to the floor._

 _"NO!" Grace screamed, running forwards and crumbling to her knees. Dean didn't stop her. He was just as gobsmacked as she was. Reaching out two shaking fingers, she pressed them against Bobby's neck._

 _This couldn't happen. Not to him. He was the closest thing she had to a father. She let out a loud exhale of breath as she felt the steady pulse against her fingertips. It was faint and slow but it was there and that was all she cared about._

 _"What the hell did you do?" she spat, glaring up at the man who just replied without emotion._

 _"The three of us need to talk, alone."_

 _"You didn't answer her question," Dean snapped as he made his way over to his sister and the unconscious Bobby, intent on putting himself in between his baby sister and this… whatever the hell he was._

 _The man, who was mildly pondering over one of their rune books on the table, simply replied, "Your friend's alive."_

 _"Who are you?"_

 _"Castiel."_

 _"We already figured out that much, funnily enough," Grace muttered with her eyes still fixed firmly on Bobby. She would normally think about the situation with a rational head but right now she was still reeling. Her heart aching for one of the very few people she cared about. "Why don't you expand a tad?"_

 _"What are you?" Dean added, rubbing his sister's tense shoulder in slight comfort._

 _Castiel looked up from the book towards the two Winchester siblings and the next six words he uttered changed their lives forever. "I'm an Angel of the Lord."_

 _Grace tried to hold it in but she couldn't and burst out laughing. This was completely and utterly insane. It had to be some practical joke._

 _From beside her, Dean's lips curved up slightly. But the man was not laughing and all the humour Grace had initially felt died at the expression on his face._

 _He was serious._

 _She rose slowly to her feet, Dean following suit and she felt his hand on her arm. Either he was doing it to restrain her or ensuring that she was still beside him. It was silent for a few seconds._

 _"Get out of here," Dean finally objected and Grace inclined her head in agreement at his words. "There's no such thing."_

 _"This is your problem Dean. You have no faith."_

 _A loud crash of thunder followed by a flash of lighting illuminated the man before everything was silent once more. Grace goggled in wonder at the wall where the shadow of the wings had just been projected against._

 _"That's not possible," she uttered. "It can't be."_

 _"Your whole life has been impossible, Grace. This is all real."_

 _Grace's head was spinning. Castiel was telling the truth. Angels existed. As in the feathery, harp-playing, singing, heavenly beings. Somehow she thought that her definition might need altering a bit._

 _She looked towards Dean to see what the hell he made of all this but her brother was just watching the angel in disgust. "Some angel you are," he spat. "You burned out that poor woman's eyes."_

 _For the first time, Grace saw a glimmer of emotion on Castiel's face, he seemed almost ashamed as he stared at the floor. "I warned her not to spy on my true form, it can be… overwhelming… to humans. So can my real voice, the two of you already knew that."_

 _"You mean the gas station and the motel," Dean realised and Grace froze, remembering all the chaos. "That was you talking?"_

 _Grace's lips curved up as she sneered, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "Nice attempt at that, those burst windows added effect quite nicely."_

 _"That was my mistake. Certain people - special people can perceive my true visage. I thought one of you may be one of them. I was wrong." Castiel looked almost disappointed but as he talked, Grace's mind had instantly jumped to Hope._

 _That little girl had told her she had heard whispers. From what Hayley had quickly filled Grace and Dean in on, they knew that Hope was pretty powerful, not that it was too astounding. After all, her father was a traditional original hybrid with witch ancestry in his blood but Grace didn't realise how special that young girl really was until now._

 _There was one thing of which she was certain of though, Hope Mikaelson was officially under her protection._

 _"Look pal, I am not buyin' what you're sellin' so who are you really?"_

 _"I told you."_

 _"My brother's right," Grace agreed, jumping back into the conversation as she furrowed her eyebrows, scrutinising the angel with the highest distrust. "An angel would never help us out."_

 _Castiel's dark eyes locked on hers and Grace felt as if she was falling into a crevice. She felt almost insignificant compared to the power he held within him. The way he looked at her made her anxious, like he was attempting to figure her out. She hated it when people tried to understand her._

 _He took a step forward. "Good things do happen, Grace Winchester."_

 _Grace scoffed at him, turning away before sitting back down on the table. "That would be a first."_

 _She felt the eyes leave her as Castiel turned to her brother who was standing tall and observing the angel in utter denial. He added, "Not in our experience."_

 _"What's the matter?" Castiel questioned, scrutinising Dean in confusion before he stated softly, the comprehension clear, "You don't think you deserve to be saved." Dean narrowed his eyes and Castiel turned back to Grace who reluctantly met his knowing gaze as he continued, "And you. You don't want to be saved."_

 _Grace let out a low exhale. He was right. He was an angel and as much as she loathed admitting it, he was well and truly right._

 _"Why did you do it?" Dean asked and Grace literally felt a shiver make its way down her spine at the angel's final words._

 _"Because God commanded it… because we have work for you."_

* * *

It all went downhill from there. The 66 seals were broken and Lucifer walked free thus triggering a terrible destiny; the final battle. The war between the three archangels: Michael and Lucifer; the two siblings who loved and betrayed one another and Zadkiel; the sibling who tried and failed to keep them all together.

It just so happened that by some sadistic twist of fate, Grace, Sam and Dean were their vessels.

This morning they had found out from an unexpectedly turned human Castiel, or Cas as they called him nowadays, that Michael had abandoned his quest to obtain Dean's compliance. Instead he had settled his sights on their half-brother Adam, who was now his compliant vessel.

Dean was safe.

The same however couldn't be said for Sam and Grace.

Sam was hell bent on giving himself up to Lucifer, he was certain that he would be able to handle it. At least long enough for Dean to activate the horsemen rings, a device devised from the five Horsemen of the Apocalypse, which would trap Lucifer in a cage for the rest of eternity.

There was a chance that Sammy would be trapped in the cage too if he wasn't strong enough to fight the devil's possession but that was a risk he was willing to take, much to Dean's dismay.

From the faint voices which Grace could hear, her older brother was currently outside with Bobby, arguing about Sam's intentions.

Knowin' Dean, he would probably rage for a few hours before spending the rest of his time working on his 'baby', providing her with unnecessary upgrades. The last time she had recalled Dean being this frustrated was when he found out that Hope's family were the Original Vampires and that they were going to be staying in Bobby's back yard.

It took him a while to get over his urge to kill them and to this day, Grace was still unsure as to what specifically caused him to change his mind.

With Dean's temperament already at bubbling point, Grace knew that she couldn't tell him that she was actually planning on doing the exact same thing as Sam.

"Gracie, come help me draw!"

Despite the situation, a rare smile only reserved for that six year old, made its way across Grace's face. She closed her dad's journal with a snap and placed it gently atop of the table before making her way upstairs to the small room on the left.

Hope Mikaelson was on the bed, lying on her front and Grace leaned against the doorframe. She hid a laugh when she saw the kid's tongue poking out from between her lips as she concentrated hard on whatever she was drawing.

Sensing the new presence in the room, the young girl glanced up and pushed unruly strands of auburn hair behind her ears, beaming as Grace sat down on the bed beside her.

"Here."

She passed Grace a blank piece of paper and some crayons before turning back to her drawing.

Grace relaxed further onto the bed, crossing her legs Indian style before pulling her chocolate-brown hair up into a ponytail.

The two of them did this every night. When her day had been crap, the female Winchester would always come upstairs to see this incredible young girl who viewed the world in a positive light without any passing thought for the monsters which lurked underneath the bed.

Even though she had never been the best at art, Grace had to admit that it was such a stress reprieve as she started to sketch random objects in the room.

After a long moment of comfortable silence, she looked towards Hope's serene face before focusing on the drawing. It never ceased to amaze her how incredibly detailed Hope's sketches were. This girl was a true art prodigy.

"What's that you're drawing?" she questioned and Hope let out a small sigh before leaning back, her pencil paused in her small grip.

"My dad. Mom described him to me the other day. She never told me anything else about him other than that he was a hero, the king that saved me and my family."

Grace grinned. Although she hadn't fully warmed up to the idea that Hope's family was made up of the first traditional vampires, she couldn't help but admire the way that the kid's dad had sacrificed himself to save his family who were still lyin' dormant in the van outside.

Someone who did something as selfless and heroic as that wasn't a true monster in Grace's book. "Well add another thing to your list," she said softly and at Hope's puzzled gaze she continued, "Your dad might possibly be a talented artist like you. We both know how much your mom sucks at it."

Hope smiled widely at Grace's words, her ocean-blue eyes shining. "Yeah." She looked down at the picture thoughtfully before passing it over to Grace. "I think my dad will like you."

Grace's heart unexpectedly pounded, her unfocused eyes staring down at the six year old's sketch as she murmured, "And why would you think that?"

"Because I like you," Hope replied simply. "And I would never want my dad to be with anyone else but you. You'll like him when you meet him, you'll see."

Grace didn't even bother to question why Hope was trying to set her up with her father. Instead, she bit her lip, careful not to meet the kid's gaze. Hope was incredibly intuitive when she wanted to be and Grace couldn't let her pick up on the guilt and sadness which flashed across her face.

She couldn't let Hope know that the ending in store for her was not the one which happened in fairy-tales.

Quickly composing herself, Grace placed the drawing gently on the bed.

A voice thankfully saved her musings as footsteps ascended the stairs. "Hope honey, it's time for bed."

Hope groaned and Grace laughed slightly as she rose to her feet. "Mom's orders kid," she stated with faint amusement. "You gotta listen to them."

"You got that right," Hayley responded as she strode into the room and the two adults smirked at each other when Hope pouted before flopping herself down onto the mattress.

Realising that this was the time to excuse herself, Grace silently edged out of the room and made her way back downstairs. She returned to her spot on the couch and curled up.

She didn't bother picking up the journal, it would be a waste of time anyway and instead she wrapped her arms around her legs, resting her chin on her knees. Smoky-blue eyes fixated on the fireplace, staring idly at the flickering tongues of the flames.

Feeling the seat next to her sink down, Grace murmured without taking her eyes off the embers, "You are not telling her."

It was not a question and Hayley let out a long exhale, mimicking Grace's position. "I can't bring myself to. She's just too young… too…"

"Innocent." Grace finished off the hybrid's sentence. They had tried so damn hard to protect Hope from the supernatural aspects of their lives as much as they could. It was almost impossible, considering the Winchester line of work, but they had succeeded.

The only person outside the main circle who Hayley let around Hope was Cas after he rebelled against heaven. The angel would never admit it but Grace knew that he had a soft spot for the little girl who liked to heal injured animals and bring dead flowers back to life.

There was a sudden creak on the floorboards and both women's heads shot up towards the stairs but there was no one to be found.

Hayley continued quietly with a voice tinged in desperation, "How am I supposed to tell her that tomorrow could be the end of the world? That she may never get to know her father and his family?"

Grace closed her eyes briefly before carefully studying the hybrid with great concern, noting the deep stress lines on the young mother's face and the weary bags underneath her eyes.

Hayley had been using all of Bobby's resources to track down all possible leads on the two remaining werewolf clans but they were dead ends. It meant two things: either there weren't many descendants left… or the bloodline had been completely wiped out.

Grace refused to believe the latter. She refused to believe that fate would be so unkind to stop a daughter from reuniting with her father. Hayley was going to find those last two clans.

The world wouldn't end tomorrow. She would ensure it.

Eyes fixed determinedly on the fire, Grace muttered, "She will get that chance Hayley if I have anything to say about it."

Hayley leaned against Grace and rested her head on the hunter's shoulder. Grace's tense form relaxed slightly, knowing that she needed some form of assurance.

"You've been so kind to us," Hayley whispered as she too began to stare into the flickering flames. "I wish I could do _something_."

Grace shook her head sharply. Dean had actually suggested that Hayley help but she had been adamant against it. She couldn't lose another person. Not after Jo and Ellen.

Besides, there wasn't a chance in hell that they were leaving Hope at Bobby's place alone. If everything went to shitstorm creek, Hayley needed to spend the last remaining moments of her life comforting her daughter.

"This is our fight Hayley," she finally answered softly. "This is the way it has to play out."

"We're ready for it."

Grace jerked her head up, only just noticing the person standing by the front door.

Her eyes watered as she met his blue orbs, so similar to her own and Hayley removed her head from Grace's shoulder as the female Winchester stood up.

She took two shaky steps forwards and all it took was his wide eyed, puppy-dog gaze before she was in her baby brother's arms.

Standing on her tiptoes because Sammy was too damn tall for his own good, she wrapped her arms tightly around his neck and his body relaxed with relief.

"You're not mad at me?"

His voice sounded so unsure and Grace buried her head into his shoulder, closing her eyes. "Sam I am furious but not with you. It's the only way to end this. Dean will come round, he always does."

There was a moment of silence before Sam finally admitted the words which made Grace's heart break. "I don't know if I can fight him."

"We will be by your side Sammy, _always_. You are _not alone_ in this."

Grace felt her brother's usually calm personality break and she rubbed his back gently, feeling the guilt resurface. Her brothers thought that all they needed to do was trap Lucifer and the apocalyptic destiny would end but Grace knew better.

She knew that if they succeeded in trapping Lucifer in the cage, Zadkiel and Michael would not rest until he was out. The archangels firmly believed that this final battle must occur. That the never-ending war between heaven and hell would only end with the three of them.

There was a one in a million chance that the Winchester siblings could win. That chance required trapping all three archangels… but the only time they would ever be within breathing distance of one another would be during the battle itself.

Grace realised that and she had been keeping this piece of information a secret from everyone. If she told them her plan, they would try and find an alternative but Sam was right.

There wasn't one.

Tomorrow morning at the crack of dawn, Grace was going to do it. She was going to hand herself over to Zadkiel.


	3. Sacrifice

_Dean Winchester was lying on his back, staring blankly up at the ceiling. Their Dad had left them again, much to Sammy's dismay. Both father and son had faced off in another yelling match which ended with their dad storming out of the old motel, hunting gear in hand. The door had slammed shut on his way out._

 _Like always, Dean tried to justify their father's actions a few minutes after the departure but his little brother was having none of it. In his anger, Sammy had taken it out on Dean too, yelling about him not understanding. Raging about how their dad treated them like luggage, a burden in his never-ending quest for revenge on the thing that killed their mom._

 _Gracie, who had been standing on the side-lines observing the row silently, approached Sam's side once the door had closed behind their dad's retreating form. She placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. Sammy calmed down shortly after that and Dean was downright grateful for his little sister's intervention._

 _Grace was always the middle ground. It was the curse of being the middle sibling, always being obliged to pick a side but somehow, she always seemed to find a way around it. She always chose to stand by the brother who needed the most support whilst silently supporting the other._

 _Dean had to admit as his green eyes roamed the rotting, wooden ceiling panels, that if it weren't for his little sister, the bond between the two brothers would be weakened or severed by now._

 _That night, his two siblings had fallen asleep fast, yet Dean stayed wide awake, counting the panels one by one in boredom. It wasn't as if he had the privilege of something as simple as sleep when there were things out there that went bump in the night. That and his dad had entrusted the eleven year old boy to keep his siblings safe whilst he went hunting for a few days._

 _It was never just a few days; Dean was smart enough to know that by now. The three siblings would be lucky if he returned by the end of the week._

 _Either way, no matter whether his dad had entrusted him or not, Dean would protect his siblings with his life. He was not afraid of the night, not when there was a shotgun lying readily under his pillow._

 _A rustling which came out of nowhere caught Dean's attention and he reflexively reached for his gun before he realised it was coming from within the room. He slowly sat up, legs hanging off the side of the bed as he squinted through the darkness to find the source. It didn't take him long._

 _Grace Winchester was twitching in her sleep, her breaths uneven and ragged as she tossed her head from one side to the other._

 _Just as Dean made a move to stand, Grace shot up out of bed with a scream before burying her head in her hands._

 _Dean was instantly on the bed beside her, concerned greatly for his baby sister as she unconsciously leaned towards him and cried against his shoulder._

 _"It surrounded me…" she spluttered, her body shaking as Dean rocked her, making small shushing noises to try to calm her down._

 _It was a move which could be described as completely uncharacteristic of the eldest Winchester and he would never admit to it but when it came to his siblings, he didn't give a damn._

 _"The fire…" Grace continued in a low trembling voice as her hands fisted into her older brother's shirt. "It was everywhere… I…I couldn't get away..." She inhaled a rasping breath. "I was so scared."_

 _Dean tensed slightly as Grace erupted again into sobs, her tears seeping through his shirt. He hoped the nightmare was just a coincidence and not her sister remembering how their mom died._

 _He pulled back and surveyed Grace's form. Although it was shadowed, Dean could make out her blotchy face which was unnaturally pale as she stared unseeingly ahead, tears still streaming from her eyes._

 _Then she suddenly stopped breathing; her body went unnaturally still and her eyes closed. She was completely lost in her panic and heart thudding, Dean grabbed his sister's shoulders and roughly shook her. "Hey."_

 _Grace's eyes snapped open, a gasp escaping her as she stared at Dean. She still wasn't fully aware but it was better than anything. Least he had her attention._

 _"You listen to me Gracie and you listen good," he commanded and Grace managed a slight nod through her unsteady breathing. "It's okay to be afraid. Fear makes us strong. It gives us the strength to fight. It keeps us aware and it keeps us alive." His voice went quieter as he gently took his sister's hands in his own. "There is nothing wrong with being afraid, you hear me Grace?"_

 _There was a short pause._

 _"Yeah," Grace finally murmured. "Yeah, I hear you."_

 _"Good," Dean stated. It was obvious that she was still not fully convinced and scanning the room, his green orbs fixed on one of Sammy's toys lying abandoned on the table._

 _An idea was quickly forming in his mind and letting go of his sister's hands, he stood up and crossed the room. Picking up the toy, he returned to Grace and opened her hand, placing the small object into her palm._

 _"You see this?" Dean questioned firmly. "Keep it with you. Whenever you are afraid, it will protect you when I can't."_

 _Grace absorbed her brother's words, a faint smile making its way on to her tear-stained face. She closed her fingers over the wooden army man and hiccupped._

 _"What's going on?"_

 _'_ _Great timing Sammy,' Dean thought sarcastically. 'Sure you sleep through our sister screaming but when I steal one of your precious toys, you are wide awake.' He was still reeling from their argument earlier. "Go back to sleep Sam," he ordered._

 _Sam ignored him and instead stared at his older sister who was wiping her cheeks, sniffing. Within a second, the seven-year old had removed his blanket from the bed and placed it on the floor in the middle of the room._

 _A watery smile edged across Grace's face as she pulled away from Dean and grabbed her blankets, placing them next to Sam's. The two of them lay down before simultaneously turning their widened eyes to Dean who sighed._

 _"Oh, what the hell," he muttered to himself before following suit and lay down on the other side of his sister._

 _That was how the three siblings slept that night._

 _Staring at the now serene smile on his little sister's face, Dean placed a kiss to her hair and murmured into the silent air, "We keep each other safe. Always."_

* * *

Grace Winchester stepped out of the front door of Bobby's house and closed it without a sound.

All through the night her eyes had stayed open. She couldn't have risked falling asleep and sabotaging her entire plan. Not when she was so close to achieving it. All she had to do now was get as far away from the house as she could.

Un-pocketing her phone, Grace sent a quick text then snapped it shut, letting the device fall to the ground. It wasn't like she was going to need it after this.

The mere thought of today quite possibly being her last, sent her emotions haywire. She didn't know what to think or feel so she blocked them off, allowing herself to feel nothing but numbness. She had to stay focused.

Squaring her shoulders, Grace's eyes focused on the road ahead. There was a faint cover of trees atop of the hill in the distance. That was where she was going to go.

A small step was all it took to start her feet moving but she hadn't gone five paces when she heard a weak creak from behind her.

Grace froze. That was the front door. She heard the silent click of it closing before the light footsteps approached her.

"Where are you going?"

"Hope, you should be in bed," Grace murmured tiredly as she slowly turned around to see the auburn-haired girl rub her eyes blearily before gazing up at the female Winchester with an innocently confused face.

Grace forced herself to smile and pushed a stray chocolate strand of hair away from her face. She knew her expression must look fake but she hoped the kid wouldn't notice. "I'm just going out to grab some food, you know how Dean gets when he doesn't get his weekly pie."

She laughed hoarsely but Hope was unperturbed as she muttered, "You don't have to lie, I know what you all are keeping from me."

One word to describe the aftermath of Hope's admittance: complete and utter shock.

"How did you…" Grace wondered before trailing off, her brain working rapidly before she mentally hit herself for not realising it earlier on. She and Hayley should have payed closer attention to the creak on the stairs last night. "Of course… sneaky kid you were listening in,' Grace said, more to herself than to Hope. She swore the girl was too curious for her own good.

Hope shivered in the cold morning air, fisting her hands under her pyjama arms for warmth. "Are you off to fight the bad people?" she whispered and Grace chewed her lip, avoiding the girl's intent gaze.

How could she explain to the kid that this was a battle she might not be able to win?

Unfortunately, Hope had already put two and two together at Grace's silence. She took a hesitant step forwards. "Promise me you will come back," she whispered. Her voice was trembling and broke at the end with a small squeak which caused Grace to look back at her.

She wished that she didn't. As she saw the watery eyes of the girl whom she had come to regard as family, Grace couldn't take it any longer. Composure breaking slightly at the sight of her tearing up at the seams, she approached her in three long strides before dropping to her knees.

Hope may be six but she wasn't naïve. She deserved some kind of explanation. Even if it was slightly dampened down.

With that in mind, Grace tried to meet Hope's eyes but the kid just stared stubbornly at the ground, sniffling.

"Hope, listen to me," Grace murmured, begging for the young girl to somehow understand. "You are right, something real bad is going down and I am one of the only ones who might be able to stop it." She paused, watching the girl's expression but she didn't move from her position. The dark haired Winchester sighed before taking the girl's hands in her own, letting out a small laugh. "I'm doing this for my family and that includes you. If I succeed, you will see yours again.

A lone tear broke free from Hope's eye and trickled down her face. Grace brushed it away with her thumb, her heart literally breaking.

Hope finally glanced up; her blue eyes tinged red as she tried to hold back the rest of her tears. She squeezed Grace's hands tight, letting her head form a small nod before she jutted out her chin. "But I need you. You're my family too, Grace."

Grace felt her own eyes start to sting but now wasn't the time to break. She couldn't afford to. She had to stay strong. "And I will always be your family kid. You have gone through so much pain but you have come out this strong and beautiful girl, one your family will be proud of. Your dad is going to adore you but I can't be there to see it like you wanted."

Tears started to stream down Hope's face as she stared at Grace's face silently, memorizing every little detail.

Grace smiled back at her and she whispered, "Soon Hope Mikaelson, you are going to be reunited with your family. And when you do, you'll finally be home."

That girl would get her fairy tale ending with her father. She _had_ to.

Hope let out a whimper as she said her voice so quiet it came out almost like a muffle. "But I don't want to leave you."

Grace sighed before extending her arms and instantly found herself engulfed by the girl's small form. "I swear to you I will never really leave you kid," she whispered into her auburn hair, stroking her small back lightly. "I will carry you with me until my last breath on this earth, just as you will carry me," she placed a small kiss onto Hope's forehead before closing her eyes as she muttered the final words that she knew would stay in the girl's memory until the end of time… "Always and Forever."

The two of them stayed like that for a short while and Grace didn't pull away. She knew that Hope needed the comfort.

The moment was finally broken by the rumbling of a truck engine coming to a halt beside them. Grace reluctantly released Hope before craning her head to see who in their right mind would drive that piece of crap.

When the door opened, she couldn't help the small smirk at the newcomer's begrudged appearance. Yet the trench coat remained as pristine as ever.

"Wow Cas, you look simply _dashing_ ," she drawled and Castiel nodded.

"Thank you Grace, I appreciate it."

Grace bit her lip, amused. Although they had been teaching Cas the meaning of emotion, Dean always got a kick out of neglecting to teach the angel the definition of sarcasm.

The newly human's gaze then locked on the auburn haired girl. "Hello Hope."

Hope approached the angel and hugged him around the middle. Grace cringed slightly as she watched the angel pat her unsurely on the back. Then meeting his eyes, she jerked her head towards the house and Cas nodded.

"Let's get you back inside," Cas said, taking Hope's hand and guided her to the house but not before the girl turned back and took one last longing look at Grace.

When her form disappeared from view, Grace sagged. That took a lot out of her. How she wished there was another way. It seemed selfish in her mind but for one split second, Grace debated running. To reunite Hope with her family and the father she dreamed so much about.

Grace wanted to see Hope Mikaelson grow up, to see what kind of person she would become.

In many years from now, Grace truly hoped that the girl would never forget her and how she saved the world.

After a couple of minutes the door re-opened and Grace once again started to make her journey towards her fate, Castiel falling into step beside her.

"I got your message," the angel said evenly. "Are you sure you are ready for this?"

Was she? Even if she had days, weeks, even years longer to prepare, Grace knew she would never truly be ready. "I have to be Cas. No matter how hard we tried, this is something we would never be able to run from. I am Zadkiel's only vessel and just maybe I can fight him off. I've endured much worse."

"Sam and Dean will not be happy," Cas muttered as the road beneath them became grassy as they began their trek up the hill towards the forest.

"They have no choice, by the time they wake up, I will be gone," Grace replied. That was the only positive side to this. Not having to be around to face her brothers' wrath. They would kill her on the spot then get death to bring her back just so they could off her again.

The rest of the walk they did in silence. Grace didn't mind. Cas was not a talkative person, he never had been but he had got to her in time and she appreciated it. His company alone was enough to help soothe her worries.

In her time of need, she was glad she had a friend by her side.

The two of them entered the forest and came upon a small circular clearing. Cas faltered in his steps and Grace stepped forwards before stopping in the middle. Knowing that Zadkiel would be attuned to her, the Winchester placed her hands together in prayer and closed her eyes.

A rush of wind hurtled through the trees, forcing the leaves to break from their branches as they swirled around the clearing like some sort of dance. It was quickly followed by a light flutter before she heard the new voice.

"So you finally considered my offer… and I didn't even have to _beg_."

Was it Grace's imagination or did the newcomer sound almost impressed?

It was now or never. Opening her eyes, Grace spun around and tried her best to hide her surprise and disgust at the sight before her.

Although she had seen Lucifer's current vessel burning up, Zadkiel's was on its last legs. Burn marks and peeling skin covered the vessel's body. Hair falling out in clumps. If Grace focused hard enough, she knew she would see the faint smoke rising from the body.

For a moment, she allowed herself to feel sympathy for the woman who Zadkiel was using as a puppet. When the archangel left her body, the human would just burn up, unforgotten like yesterday's piece of trash.

Remembering that the angel was waiting for Grace to reply, she met the female's eyes straight on. She needed to get this following point across or she wasn't making the deal. "You try to prevent the collateral damage however much you can. If you hurt my brothers in any way, the deal is off and I will fight back."

The vessel's thin lips tilted up into a small smile. If the person was not possessed, Grace would have thought the reaction to be genuine and respectful.

"I would expect no less," she muttered and Grace took in the last breath that she would consciously make. This was for all the people in this world. They needed someone willing to sacrifice their life so they all could live.

"Then yes," Grace said, fully accepting the archangel and resigning herself to her inevitable destiny.

The following seconds happened very quickly. As soon as the declaration left the Winchester's lips, there was a bright flash of light which illuminated the skies. Grace let out a gut wrenching scream of agony which was drowned out by a crash of thunder.

Not being able to just sit by and watch any longer, Castiel ran forwards, shielding his eyes from the onslaught of white light.

Then it was silent. Unnaturally so. Cas turned back, his eyes squinting as they adjusted to the scene.

The surrounding trees were on fire. The ground was black and hard. Zadkiel's old vessel lay in the middle of the clearing, charred and decaying.

The archangel himself and Grace were nowhere to be seen.

* * *

"How could you let this happen?!"

Bobby's entire living room was crowded and in disarray. Hayley and Bobby were standing by the entrance to the living room, watching the scene with a mixture of surprise, horror and anger.

Castiel had been backed into the corner by the two remaining Winchesters with Dean at the front, his face one of complete rage. Sam stood slightly behind his brother with his arms crossed but there was no mistaking the darkness churning behind his blue eyes.

Castiel just stared at the Winchester brothers' faces calmly. "She made her choice, Dean."

"You should have told me the instant she let you in on her plan! What the hell were you thinking Cas?" Dean finished, glaring at the person he had regarded as a friend in utter betrayal.

"Dean's right Cas," Sam added. "You should have told us."

Castiel looked up towards the two others in the room but they were giving him the same death stares as the two brothers.

Frustration coursed through him and he took a bold step forwards. He may have had lost his angel status but he was not going to stand idly by and take these accusations like a naughty child. "I do not follow your orders. I supported Grace because she was right."

"What the hell was she thinking?" Dean muttered to himself and Sam stared at the ground. He knew what Dean was feeling. He knew because he felt the exact same.

Behind all that anger was fear. Fear for their sister. Sam wanted her to stay out of this… and Dean… Dean couldn't afford to lose them both.

"How long had she been planning this?" Sam questioned Cas and Dean immediately froze, turning on his heel and placing his undivided attention back on the angel.

When Cas paused, Dean growled, "Answer the damn question, Cas."

"After the two of you talked with Death," Castiel reluctantly replied, avoiding everyone's tensing forms.

"Unbelievable," Dean muttered, laughing slightly but Castiel had learned the meaning of emotions enough to know that this was not a laugh of happiness.

"You should have stopped her," Sam said, looking at his brother, who had crossed over to the fridge and popped open a beer more harshly than normal. At the moment, the youngest Winchester had to stay the rational one but it was becoming increasingly hard to do so.

"It's not Cassy's fault."

The small voice came out of nowhere. Everyone in the room had been so focused on raging at Castiel that they had paid no attention to the sound of the little girl who was now standing behind them with wet eyes.

Hayley instantly made her way to her daughter, taking the girls hands in her own. "Hope go back upstairs."

"No mom, I didn't stop her either," Hope said sadly, as she played with her pyjama sleeve, where the silver bracelet lay hidden underneath.

"It wasn't your fault kiddo," Bobby muttered, finally putting his voice into the conversation. "Was it Dean?" he questioned in a hard voice, daring the boy to contradict him.

Deans face softened slightly as he stared at the girl who was staring worriedly back at him. "No. It wasn't. I don't blame you at all Hope." He paused and snapped his head back towards Cas, glaring daggers.

"Hayley, cover Hope's ears," Sam whispered hastily, sensing his brother was about to explode and Hayley followed his suggestion rapidly as Dean jabbed a finger in the newly turned human's direction.

"I blame that feathered son of a bitch over there."

"I am not an angel anymore Dean."

"I don't give a damn!" Dean shouted back, clenching his fists hard, trying his best not to land a right hook straight in Castiel's face. He managed to hold himself back though, there was a child in the room and he wouldn't be the one to subject her to the type of violence that was out there.

Castiel shook his head. The eldest Winchester had no idea. They thought their plan would work. They needed a reality check.

"You really think Sam has a chance of defeating the _devil_?" he spat, his patience finally wearing thin. "Even if he fills up on demon blood and withstands Lucifer long enough to throw himself into the cage, do you really think that Zadkiel and Mikael would stop? You of all people should understand the meaning of family."

Castiel finished off his rant, breathing heavily as he stared the two Winchesters down. He could see the comprehension slowly dawning on their faces. Took them long enough.

"Grace understood that. The only chance you have of stopping the apocalypse is if all three of them are trapped inside the cage together."

Dean said nothing, just stared at Castiel with an unfathomable expression before slamming his beer down hard on the counter. Then whipping around on his heel, he muttered something about needing some air before he strode outside, the door closing with a snap.

"This can't be happening," Sam muttered, staring at the door his brother had just left through. He hated to admit it but Grace was right.

Family was everything, even to archangels. Michael, Lucifer and Zadkiel all had to be trapped inside the cage. It didn't take a genius to know that the future for Sam and Grace was not a happy one.

He just hoped that his brother would survive the aftermath.

Slowly turning away from everyone's worried gazes, Sam grabbed himself a beer from the fridge then swiped Dean's unfinished one from the countertop as he strode towards the door where his older brother had gone. The two of them needed to talk alone.

Once the two Winchesters left the room, the remaining four let out a collective sigh. Castiel sank back into the couch, feeling suddenly drained. Human kind was exhausting.

"Don't worry, I still like you."

Cas tilted his head to regard the small child who had moved with her mother to sit down on the couch beside him. "Thank you," he replied lowly and she smiled before curling herself up into a little ball, snuggling into her mother's arms.

Castiel had once thought this girl to be a monster, an abomination. Had he not rebelled, had he still been a blind soldier of heaven, his orders would have been to eradicate the child on the spot. The more time he had spent around the Winchesters, the more he realised that everything wasn't so black and white.

The first time he ever truly realised that was when he met Hope Mikaelson…

* * *

 _"Hayley, Hope! Guess who's officially on heavens naughty list." Dean sang as he strode all too happily through Bobby's front door with Castiel lagging behind. As soon as the angel stepped through the door for the first time, he froze._

 _The power coming from inside the room was unlike anything he had ever known._

 _He entered the room, eyes scanning for the possible threat and he landed on the dinner table where three people sat. He immediately recognised Grace but the other two were not human._

 _Following the power, his eyes fell on the young auburn-haired girl who was eyeing him curiously with a smile whilst munching on her pancakes. A perfect picture of innocence but Castiel knew better._

 _This child was unnatural._

 _As he stood, unsure of what to do next, whether to smite this girl down or leave her be, he felt a pair of eyes on him and met the smoky blue orbs of Grace Winchester. Although they were now on good terms since he saved her and her brothers from Zachariah, the warning look she sent towards him made it perfectly clear what she was conveying._

 _You harm the child and I will put you down._

 _Castiel decided for now to let it go and fully assess the situation for himself. He no longer had orders to follow. He would make his own decision regarding the child and if he had to kill her for the good of humanity, then so be it._

 _When Dean slumped into his chair and kicked his legs up onto the wooden table, Grace reached down, pulling out a carrier bag before sliding it across the table towards him. Dean's eyes widened before he tore the packaging away and inhaled the food, letting out a loud sigh of content._

 _"Sweet," he murmured before digging into the pie._

 _"So…" Grace began slowly, giving a side glance at Hayley to see that the hybrid was doing the exact same thing as she was. Assessing if Castiel was still a threat to Hope. For now she decided to act casual but stay on guard. She may have more respect for the angel but she didn't trust him. Not yet._

 _She decided to make the first move and gestured towards the empty chair. Cas stiffly sat down. Then turning to Hayley she asked, "Have you found any new leads?"_

 _Hayley sighed, stabbing at her breakfast in irritation. "Not a single one. Turns out the wolf I was tracking was not from a Deep Water bloodline but a Basroq." She sighed and Grace felt her heart go out to the young mother who stroked her daughter's shoulder comfortingly whilst trying to hide her despair. "Just another dead end."_

 _Grace knew better than to ask the hybrid about any sightings of the Malraux bloodline. Extinction was swiftly becoming the most likely possibility._

 _From the bags underneath Hayley's eyes, Grace realised that the mother must have been tracking these leads on her own once more._

 _Since she and Dean returned with a wheel-chair bound Bobby, their guardian had not even spoken to anyone except saying a gruff hello to Hope before locking himself in his room where he had stayed ever since._

 _"If you want some help," Grace offered and Dean nodded quickly, his cheeks bulging with pie. The two siblings needed a distraction after the hellish week they had. Hayley sent them a thankful smile._

 _Before Dean arrived with Cas, Grace had quickly filled Hayley in on Lucifer's release, Bobby's accident and Sammy's absence. She knew that the last thing Dean wanted to talk about was their baby brother and she wasn't going to make him relive everything._

 _All she cared about was that the two of them were safe. Sammy was keeping her up to date with his whereabouts so she wasn't worried._

 _The one thing Grace still needed to fill Hayley in on was the recent revelation… that Lucifer rising meant the beginning of the end._

 _The female Winchester was still trying to process the fact that she and her brothers would be playing a major part as the vessels of the three archangels who would fight the final battle. Hayley didn't need to know that yet, and she wouldn't until Grace was ready to tell her. The news was still too raw right now._

 _"Why are you on heaven's naughty list?"_

 _Hope's sudden question brought Grace back into reality as the auburn-haired girl stared at the angel inquisitively. Castiel spoke carefully to the girl he was still wary of, "I… did not agree with my brethren's beliefs. They do not like me."_

 _Hope nodded, chewing her remaining pancake thoughtfully before she grinned. "That's okay, angels are dicks."_

 _There was a sudden clatter of a fork hitting the table as Hayley froze for a second before she snapped her head towards Dean_ w _hose mouth was slightly ajar, a piece of pie dropping out of his mouth landing on the plate._

 _He quickly shrugged it off before continuing to shovel the food into his mouth. "It wasn't me."_

 _Hayley snarled lowly, her eyes flashing gold and Grace placed her head in her hands whilst Hope just looked around confused._

 _At the tense silence Hope turned her attention back to Castiel, rekindling the conversation. "You can learn what it is like to be human now."_

 _Castiel furrowed his eyebrows. This child was a conundrum. He did not understand. "I don't know how to act human. I am not human," he stated._

 _"That's okay, I'm not either. We can teach you."_

 _The little girl held out her hand expectantly and Castiel hesitated before placing his hand in hers. The angel froze as he felt the child's energy surround him before he relaxed and smiled slightly. She was not evil._

* * *

Castiel blinked, realising his mind had wandered and the four remaining people in the room looked at each other.

"So, what are we supposed to do now?" Hayley questioned, stroking Hope's hair as the young girl fought to keep her eyes open.

Bobby sighed before pulling out a few more beers with some juice for Hope as he sat down by the other three and popped the lid open. "We wait for the boys to make a decision."

* * *

 **Another chapter done - hope you liked it :D**

 **Reviews**

 _Silently Tearful: I think at the moment I am going to focus on the Originals storyline but there will still be the major aspect of the fifth season of supernatural to deal with. There will definitely be a Winchester hunt somewhere in the midst, when I feel like I can fit it in. I might have the Mikaelsons and the Winchesters run into problems with the angels later on but we'll see. :)  
_ _Dark-Supernatural-Angel: Haha, I wasn't really planning on the time jump at the beginning either but then decided to just go with it. There will be more flashback's when you will find out when Hayley became friends with the Winchesters and you will find out at why Dean changed his mind. In the next chapter, you will find out the aftermath of the cage ;).  
_ _Guest: I'd say the Winchesters will meet the Mikaelsons pretty soon, in what way I will not say :D  
_ _lilnightmare17: Thank you, It means a lot!  
_ _Kal824: Glad you liked the time jump! Hope this chapter was okay. I debated putting Sam with Rebekah but I have pre-written scenes with her and Dean. I kind of feel like they would challenge each other more._

 **Until next time - please review :)**


	4. Swan Song - Part One

In the empty house, a prophet sat on a chair, relaxing back as images flashed through his head. He stared at the disarray of books scattered throughout his house before turning his attention back the computer before him.

The document was blank apart from the two words written at the top of the screen.

 _Swan Song._

Out of all the books he had ever authored, this would be the most moving one to date. It would be the one which would make his fans proud. Hell, it would be the one which would make him proud. After all, it would be the last book he would ever write for a very long time.

He had to make it all worthwhile.

Carver Edlund inhaled a calming breath in, then exhaled slowly and began to type the end of what would be his most important story in the history of the universe.

 _On April 21, 1967, the 100 millionth GM vehicle rolled off the line at the plant in Janesville – a blue two-door Caprice. There was a big ceremony, speeches. The lieutenant governor even showed up._

 _Three days later, another car rolled off that same line. No one gave two craps about her._

 _But they should have._

 _Because this 1967 Chevrolet Impala would turn out to be the most important car – no, the most important object – in pretty much the whole universe._

* * *

Sam and Dean sat on the hood of the Impala, watching the sun slowly rising in the sky, signalling the dawn of a new day. It was a beautiful picture but it was far from perfect. Incomplete.

For a while the two brothers just sat there, silent, reluctant to face the reality that was looming over them.

Dean brought his beer to his lips, taking a long gulp before sliding off the hood and leaned against it. Eyes fixed on the horizon, he wondered whether Grace could see the sunrise through Zadkiel's eyes or whether she was still fighting tooth and nail to remain in the light. To not be dragged down into the all-consuming darkness of unconscious.

He presumed it to be the latter.

He hoped it wasn't the third option. That one, he couldn't bear thinkin' about. He refused to believe that his sister was already gone. Grace was too strong to be dead.

There was only one way to find out.

"I'm in," Dean finally said, his empty beer can falling from his limp grasp to the ground with a faint clatter.

Sam straightened up, shocked to hear the two words coming out of his brothers mouth. The youngest Winchester almost felt dazed, as if he had entered some kind of alternate reality. He still needed Dean to elaborate though because he didn't even think his brother was capable of saying that. "In with…"

Dean gritted his teeth slightly. Did he really need to go into detail? This was painful enough for him as it is. "The whole _'up with Satan thing.'_ I'm on board."

"You're gonna let me say yes?" Sam spluttered, not fully convinced of what he was hearing and Dean nodded.

"You're a grown, overgrown man Sammy and although it goes against every fibre that I got, I can't keep treating you like a kid."

Sam looked at his brother in awe. He knew how hard this must be for him. Dean had looked after him and Grace their entire lives and it must kill him to know that he couldn't fight this internal fight with them.

"If anyone can beat the Devil, it's you Sammy and I'm thinkin' that this is the only way we will see our sister again." Dean sighed. He said nothing further but he didn't have to. Sam already understood the words left unsaid and it pained him immensely…

 _For one last time_.

Sam pushed himself off the hood of the Impala and in unison, the two boys strode back to the house. It was time to recruit 'Team Free Will' for one last fight.

* * *

"I've done what you said, I've got Hope packing." Hayley Marshall-Kenner narrowed her eyes, her eyes glittering gold as she crossed her arms in distaste. "This is _wrong_."

Dean gritted his teeth together as he stared at the fireplace, the remnants of flickering flames lapping up the coal. Bobby and Castiel had already left to hunt down some Demons and the Winchester brothers would be following soon.

Sammy was loading the Impala, having won at rock, paper, scissors... _again._ Leaving Dean to deal with the immortal pissed off mother who was currently yelling his ear off.

"-you can't just waltz up to Lucifer's door and trick him into possessing Sam's body, expect Sam to win this sadistic battle of wills whilst you summon Michael and Zadkiel in the hope that Sam can pull both of them into the cage. You have a one in a million percent chance of this _actually_ going to plan!"

"Better than none," Dean interrupted smiling but there was no happiness behind it. "I like these odds already."

"Not _good enough!_ " Hayley argued and Dean let out an internal curse. Convincing this woman to leave with her daughter was going to be hard as hell.

"Look," Dean expressed with forced calm as he faced her. "Sammy will be all jacked up on Demon blood. He will be able to fight this."

"What if he can't?"

"He _will_."

Hayley quirked an eyebrow and Dean exhaled deeply. Right now, he had no idea who he was trying to convince more. Sam would have been better dealin' with this. He had the empathy thing sorted out with just one look into his puppy dog eyes.

"Look, you listen to me Hayley," he demanded, his tone sharp and Hayley began to open her mouth to argue some more but he cut across her. "You're gonna take that kid as far away from this as possible. The two of you should have never got tangled up in our crap. You find those other clans and you give that kid the apple pie life she has always wanted. Get her father back. My father was a son of a bitch on his best days but right now, I would _kill_ to see him again."

Dean stopped talking and breathed heavily, his hands shaking and his heart palpitating, the stress of what was coming showed clear as day across his face.

A hand touched his taut shoulder gently and reluctantly he looked up at Hayley, surprised to see her anger gone and her expression soft.

"You know," she began quietly. "We didn't just stay here because of Grace. We're stayed because of you too, Dean." At the eldest Winchester's startled expression, Hayley couldn't help but smile. "You saved us, in so many ways over the past year. You gave my daughter something she always wanted. A life of hope instead of fear. Like it or not, you are a part of her family. She is not gonna lose that. I'm taking her to Mary's but I am not running. Not far. You'll need us when this is all over."

"Mom?"

Hayley removed her hand and stepped away, making her way towards the stairs to help her daughter finish packing. Before she left the room, she paused before whirling back around. "Make sure you come back," she pleaded. "You, Sam and Grace. Make sure you come _home_."

Dean did not reply. He wasn't going to lie to her. There had been way too much of it recently.

"Goodbye Hayley."

* * *

 _The Impala, of course, has all the things other cars have... and a few things they don't. But none of that stuff's important._

 _This is the stuff that's important._

 _The army man that Sam crammed in the ashtray – it's still stuck there. The Lego's that Dean shoved into the vents – to this day, heat comes on and they can hear 'em rattle. The initials that Grace forced her brothers to carve onto the floor with her, can still be seen when the sun shines upon it during a summer's day._

 _These are the things that make the car theirs – really theirs. Even when Dean rebuilt her from the ground up, he made sure all these little things stayed. 'Cause it's the blemishes that make her beautiful._

 _The Devil doesn't know or care what kind of car the Winchester siblings drive._

The Michigan night air was cold. A faint mist enveloped the streets like a soft blanket. The windows which surrounded the tall buildings in the city of Detroit were frozen up.

A lone figure stood behind one of those windows, gazing out onto the desolate town in nonchalance. His father's perfect little excuse for creatures tucked up nice and warm in bed.

Such a shame they wouldn't live to see the morning, for the apocalypse was on the horizon and the Devil was itching for it.

A sadistic smirk twisted onto his lips as he reached out a finger, tracing a pitchfork against the ice crystals on the window, watching the tiny droplets of water trickling down, away from the disturbance against the glass before they once again, froze solid.

"Sorry if it's a bit chilly," Lucifer addressed the silent room but the smirk still stayed in place. He was not sorry at all. He didn't care about anything as trivial as apologies. "Most people think I burn hot. It's actually quite the opposite."

"Well, I'll alert the media," a gruff voice responded sarcastically and Lucifer's eyes gleamed a ruby red before he turned round to face the Winchester brothers that his demons had so easily captured.

Almost _too_ easily.

Dean Winchester stared at the Devil, barely concealing his disgust at the monster before him. He couldn't even bring himself to feel pity for the vessel anymore.

The body of Nick Peterson was so degraded, deteriorating fast that he knew that the man inside must no longer be alive. The only reprieve that could be given to him now was to set his soul free.

Lucifer stepped forwards, clapping his hands together as his eyes darted between the two Winchester boys in confusion.

"Help me understand something guys," he stated slowly, not fully understanding what had possessed them to even have the bravery or stupidity to face him when they knew all too well what he was after. "I mean, stomping through my front door's… a tad suicidal don't you think?"

"We're not here to fight you," Sam sneered, and Lucifer's gaze shot towards his true vessel, not believing what he was hearing.

"No? Then why are you?" he questioned, his eyes fixed on Sam who instantly replied with eyes of steel.

"I want to say yes."

Dean averted his gaze to the rotting floorboards. He may have said that he was okay with all this but seeing his baby brother struggle to down the demon blood, all to face this son of a bitch with such determination, had been torture. Not to mention, Grace, his baby sister, who had already surrendered herself over to give them the best chance of beating this.

It was all too much for one man to endure.

"Excuse me?" Being alive since the beginning of time, there wasn't many things left that caused the Devil to be shocked, but he had to admit, Sam Winchester was not a boring toy of dear old dad's.

In response, Sam shut his eyes tight and there was an unexpected flash of light which burst out of the two demon's foreheads before they fell with a loud thump where they stood. Dead before they even hit the floor.

Lucifer didn't bat an eyelid at the loss of his henchmen but inside the amusement he felt was impalpable. "Chock-full of Ovaltine, are we?" he murmured in disbelief. Was that really the best the two hunters could do?

He was the _Devil_. Evil incarnate. Cast down from heaven because even his father couldn't handle his appetite for destruction. And the two Winchesters thought that stuffing the boy up with demon blood would give him the chance to fight?

He almost fought the urge to laugh. Once he accepted, Sammy would slowly fade away, it may take a little longer but he would fade away all the same. But maybe in the meantime, he could have some fun with it.

"You heard me," Sam countered, leaving no room for argument. "Yes."

Well the ape had guts Lucifer would give him that. He was _almost_ impressed. "You're serious." It was not a question. It was a realisation.

Sam Winchester glared at the Devil before sharing a brief glance with his older brother. He could see that Dean was concerned for him and he should be. The power which was raging within him was like a battling inferno. It was too much for the human body to tolerate.

He didn't let the fight within him show except for his slightly faster breathing as he tried to keep his anger towards Lucifer at bay. "Look," he stated, exhaling out a short breath, putting on a look of defeat. "Judgement day is a runaway train. We get it now. We just want off."

Lucifer paused, his full attention was now on Sam. "Meaning?" he probed, forcing his true vessel to elaborate.

"Deal of the century."

Lucifer's mouth twitched and he looked down before placing a finger to his lips in mock thought. He already knew what he was going to do but he just decided to indulge in it and allowed Sam to prattle on.

"I give you a free ride but when it's all over, I live," Sam nodded to his brother who was watching the conversation with a rapidly beating heart, "he lives," His gaze snapped back to Lucifer, his voice getting harder and stronger as he demanded, "our sister lives, you bring our parents back!"

Lucifer sighed irritated at the audacity of this little ant demanding things from him. He was doing Sam a favour by not already smiting the other brother down where he stood. He had no use for him.

"Okay can we please drop the telenovela," he stated, the mocking gestures ending as he dropped his hand to his side. Glancing between the two brothers he furrowed his eyebrows. "Where is your other third? I must admit, I am a little disappointed she is not here to witness the festives. She always did have _quite_ the attitude." He paused, smiling darkly as he caught both of the brothers' eyes. "It was… _invigorating._ "

He shuddered teasingly and watched on avidly as the two brothers twitched. He was goading them, attempting to get a rise and it was working. It was almost too easy to break through that ' _I refuse to show my feelings_ ' façade but he had his answer.

"Ahhh," he murmured knowingly. So valiant little Gracie had let dear old Zadkiel hitch a ride, taking the front seat in her meat suit.

As the millenniums went by, Lucifer had convinced himself that Zadkiel had fled with his tail between his legs. Unable to watch as he and Mikael battled it out to see who would end up on top. His big bro was always trying to step in between them. Always so willing to listen, to forgive.

It was _pathetic_.

"So trying to reunite with her for the last time are we?" He let out a loud cold laugh which sent shivers down the Winchester brothers' spines. How _sentimental_. "What will you do then? Drop Zad, Michael and I into the cage?"

He wasn't so easily fooled.

Switching from mocking to serious in a split second, Lucifer said quietly but there was a dark edge to expression, "I know you have the rings, Sam."

It was blindingly obvious. The way Sam froze, the way Dean stared on with a trickle of fear behind those stone eyes which were starting to slowly crack. They hadn't expected him to know.

Sam's head shook quickly, too quickly in denial, "I have no idea what you're talking about."

Did he really have to spell it out? He was done playing games now. Raising his eyebrows, he continued in condescension and moved his hand in a small arc. "The Horsemen rings." He began to step forwards. "The magic keys to my cage," He was in front of Sam now. "Ring a bell?"

Sam did not answer and Lucifer had to hold in his anger as he shoved past him. "Come on Sam, I've never lied to you, you could at least pay me the same respect." He took in some deep breaths. He couldn't kill him. He needed him. He forced out a smile as the two brothers watched on tensely. "It's okay, I'm not mad."

He held out a hand and ticked one finger off, looking up in thought and smirking at the desperation and fear in his vessel's expression "A wrestling match inside your noggin?" He hummed, weighing up the pros and cons. "I like the idea. Just you and me? One round?" He tilted his head to the side with a glint in his eyes as he warned, "No tricks. If you win I sit back and jump in the hole willingly when the time comes, if I win well…" he smiled a satisfied smile. "Then I win."

 _And the apocalypse would finally begin._

It seemed like he had a quiet audience of gaping fish staring back at him. It was time to bring this conversation to a close. "What do you say Sam? A fiddle of gold against you soul says I'm better than youuuuu."

The taunt rang true in Sam's ears and he clenched his fists tight. Feeling his brother beside him gave him a small amount of comfort. This had to work. They had no other option.

Fight and conquer. As fast as they could. Lucifer was going to return to the cage with his siblings.

"So he knows. Doesn't change anything," he murmured to Dean

"Sam. _No_ ," his older brother uttered, his voice teetering on the edge of calm and fear.

"We don't have any other _choice_ ," Sam persisted, his eyes locked on Lucifer who watched their ramblings casually.

" _No_."

Sam ignored his brother. This was it. It was time. He raised his head, his will strong as he stated firmly, " _Yes_."

Lucifer raised back his head and his arms splayed out to the side as a blinding light filled the room.

* * *

From outside the building, two figures stood looking at each other briefly before turning back to watch on as the windows illuminated.

"This must work," Castiel stated, his eyes fixed on the glass. "Sam must win. We will not get this opportunity again."

Bobby nodded shortly, his heart hammering wildly against his chest as he lifted off his cap to wipe the sweat from his brow. "Come on you idjit," he pleaded, hoping the youngest Winchester had enough strength to fight this.

* * *

As the light which burned through his eyelids began to fade away, Dean opened his eyes. Dots swam in front of his vision but he forced himself to concentrate as he scanned the room wildly.

Sammy was lying on the floor unconscious.

The fight had begun and Dean was wasting precious time they did not have.

Plunging his hand into his pocket, he clenched his fingers over the Horsemen rings and thrust his arm out. He flung the rings across the room with such a force that when they landed, they indented themselves into the wall.

His arm still thrust out, Dean began to recite the words he had been playing over and over in his head so not to screw up.

 _"Bvtmon… tabges… babalon"_

The stone wall began to crack as pieces of rock broke off, getting sucked into the rapidly widening black hole.

"C'mon Sammy you can fight this," he urged, placing a hand on his brother's shoulder, squeezing his eyes shut tight as he prayed to the high heavens that when Sam regained consciousness, it would be his baby brother staring back at him through those smoky blue eyes.

After what seemed like forever, Dean's heart flipped as Sammy's body shot up into a sitting position before letting out a tumultuous groan, grasping at his face in agony.

"Dean!" he yelled out and Dean quickly pulled his baby brother to his feet.

"I can feel him," Sam moaned, staggering before clutching Dean's arms hard for support. "Oh _God!_ "

"C'mon Sammy, Hold on just a little longer. You ready for me to summon them?"

"Yeah," Sam gasped through laboured breaths, pushing himself away from Dean's grasp and stumbled a few steps forwards, his face screwed up and his eyes firmly shut.

Without any further ado Dean began the Enochian incantation that the angel Zachariah had used to summon Michael and Zadkiel in the past. " _Zod ee reh doh noh koh ah beh rah ma geh nah zod peh sah g-"_

"Actually, I've changed my mind."

Before Dean could get the last word out, he was thrown across the room. A hot pain surged through his wrist as he landed on it with a sickening crack. Squinting up through blurred eyes, he saw his brother standing strangely still, facing the hole before slowly turning round, a small grin spreading across his face.

"I was just messing with you. I have to admit though, you did get _quite_ close."

He waved a hand and the rings flew across the room, landing with a clatter against the wooden floor. The hole was gone.

Dean stared on in horror, unable to comprehend what was happening as 'Sam' continued without any emotion in his voice, "Sammy's long gone. Looks like those rings of yours just became totally useless."

Dean stood there, his eyes burning and Lucifer smirked, watching the eldest Winchester finally break. "Poor, poor Dean, lost both your siblings in one day, should keep better watch over them." He tutted slowly, goadingly, savouring the suffering of the human before him. "I told you. This would always happen in Detroit."

Dean blinked and the place where his brother's body had once stood was now empty. The plan had failed and he had nothing left. Panic encompassed him and he spun around, his hands interlocked behind his head.

Grace was gone, Sammy was gone. The rings were gone. The apocalypse would happen and Dean had no way of finding it to stop it.

A lone tear trickled down his cheek.

It was over. They had lost.

* * *

 _In between jobs, Sam, Dean and Grace would sometimes get a day – sometimes a week, if they were lucky. They'd pass the time lining their pockets._

 _Sam used to insist on honest work, but now he hustles pool, like his brother. They always won when Grace distracted the losing team. To this day, Sam and Dean still don't approve but in the hardest of times, it got them by._

 _They could go anywhere and do anything._

 _And when it was clear, they'd park her in the middle of nowhere, sit on the hood, and the three of them would watch the stars... for hours... without saying a word._

 _It never occurred to them that, sure, maybe they never really had a roof and four walls..._

 _But they were never, in fact homeless._

Chuck leant back and smiled as he rested his fingers on the keyboard. "That's a good line," he murmured softly.

The phone rang.

Smiling, deciding he deserved a well-earned, five minute break from writing, he took a quick sip of the alcohol on his desk. Glasses removed and undoing the tie of his dressing gown, Chuck grabbed the phone and placed it to his ear.

There would be only one person who would call at this hour. "Mistress Magda?" he answered huskily, a wide smile on his face.

"Um… no Chuck."

Chuck faltered, his smile fading in an instant. The voice on the other side was definitely _not_ what he was expecting.

Suddenly flustered, he re-tied his dressing gown with clumsy fingers and accidentally set the papers on his desk askew. "Oh, uh, Dean, uh wow. I uh, I didn't know that you'd call."

"Who's _Mistress Magda_?"

Chuck flushed, his hands moving rapidly across his desk towards the alcohol bottle, refilling his now empty glass. He would need a lot of it to forget this conversation. "Nothing, she's a uh, just a uh.."

He rubbed the back of his neck uncomfortably as he tried to come up with a viable explanation. Eyes straying to a certain magazine, he quickly turned it over to stop himself from getting distracted. He cleared his throat and finally went with, "She's a friend… just a close friend."

He shut his eyes tightly, inwardly cursing himself at the rapidly increasing pitch of his voice. Even he knew how bad that lie was coming out of his mouth.

"What happened to… never mind I don't give one," Dean muttered to himself over the line before sighing and Chuck opened his eyes, realising that the older Winchester was finally approaching the proper reason he called. "Look Chuck. I have nowhere else to turn. Sam said yes… and Zadkiel has Grace."

Chuck moved the phone to his other ear as he replaced his glasses back onto his face and stared at the words on the screen. The prophet knew that Dean was trying to be strong but this was truly tearing him up inside. "I know, I saw it. I'm just working on the pages."

Losing both his siblings must be unbearable and when Chuck had typed Grace's sacrifice, he had to admit that even he welled up a tiny bit.

The agony she had felt at being unable to see her siblings again, the underlying sadness that she would never be able to help Hope Mikaelson; the kid she had become so attached to, reunite with her family.

The emotion had been so hard to put into words.

"Look, I know you are not allowed to say anything in case it wrecks the future and all," Dean continued, the words spilling out of his mouth and Chuck stayed silent. Pondering hard.

Perhaps it wouldn't hurt to give him a _teeny_ nudge. He was rooting for the Winchesters after all.

"The angels are keeping it top secret… very hush hush but perks of being a prophet I got a glimpse. Didn't even realise I was there. How amazing is that? By passing angels and they didn't even notice but then again why would they right? With all this apocalypse stuff, they wouldn't focus on me."

"Chuck, babbling," Dean said shortly and Chuck nodded, sweating slightly.

Drawing in a long breath to calm down his tight jumble of nerves, he wiped his brow then swallowed, focusing hard. "Yes okay. So it happens tomorrow. High noon place called Stull Cemetery.

"Stull Ceme-" Dean murmured in confusion and Chuck smiled as he waited for him to figure it out. "Wait. I know that. That's – that's an old boneyard outside of Lawrence. Why Lawrence?"

"I don't know. It all has to end where it started, I guess," Chuck replied. That and it made the story quite poetic to come round full circle.

"Well, do you have any idea what's gonna happen next?" Dean demanded but the prophet wasn't going to answer that.

He had already given away too much information and Dean had to do this by himself. Go through a hard time and come out the other end, still fighting. The green eyed hunter had already lost everything during the Lucifer confrontation. Now there was only one way left to go and that was up.

Chuck had provided Dean with enough incentive; it was up to him to do the rest.

"I wish that I did. But I-I just – I honestly don't know yet. All I know is that you are on the right track Dean."

There was a silence.

"All right," Dean finally replied softly. "Thanks, Chuck."

Chuck heard the dial tone and he smiled slightly before placing the phone back on its stand. Dean Winchester was officially back in the game. Everything was coming along quite nicely. Almost like clockwork.

Resting his fingers on the keys, Chuck opened his mind once more and let the visions seep through. The typing began again and he increased his pace. There was not long left now and he had to tell the whole story.

 _There was a small church on the outskirts of Lawrence, Kansas; old and vacant for centuries. No one knew it existed as over time, memories faded but the ground never stopped being holy._ _After all, it was the antiques which usually held the most value._

 _That was where Zadkiel chose to remain until the final battle began._

 _Constantly being torn apart by the animosity between his two brothers since the dawn of creation, the archangel was unknowingly about to face a very difficult decision which would affect the course of his life forever._

* * *

The decaying door of the church swung open and Zadkiel staggered forwards, the shoulders of his vessel hunched over in exhaustion. He collapsed onto one of the pews, the wood barely strong enough under its age to take his weight but it managed.

"Are you ever going to stop fighting me, Grace Winchester?" Zadkiel murmured into the silent room but his voice still managed to echo off the empty walls.

 _"You'll have to kill me first."_

Despite the will in her voice, the loudness was slowly quieting down. She was getting weaker yet her determination was still strong.

"You might not have to worry about that," Zadkiel replied monotonously, leaning forwards and clasping his hands tightly together in his lap as he tuned in to the angels; the thousands of voices passed through his ears but their conversations all had one thing in common. Lucifer. "The apocalypse is fast approaching. Looks like my brother has taken his vessel. Not long now."

There was a burst of pain which leaked through and Zadkiel placed a hand to his head, running his fingertips through the long, knotted tresses that were his vessel's hair.

He knew the information had caused the girl to feel pain and if she was as strong as she had been earlier on in the day, the emotion would have been almost unbearable.

 _"He's gonna die."_ She was unnaturally quiet and Zadkiel looked ahead, saying nothing as he waited for her to finally come to the realisation. _"Sammy… my baby brother… he's going to die."_

"Yes." There was no point in lying to the girl. She wouldn't be able to do anything about it anyhow. "You cannot save him. Your brother cannot fight Lucifer. Just as you cannot fight me. My brother is out there and he is killing left, right and centre. Probably another temper tantrum as he vies for dear old dad's attention."

The archangel frowned at the niggling despair and steepled his fingertips together, thinking hard.

As much as he loathed to admit it, his values and beliefs had once been very similar to Grace's. If she had existed in the beginning, he would bet that the two of them would have been practically the same person. Except that Grace was more emotionally connected to her siblings whereas Zadkiel was connected to his out of duty.

He was the Angel of Mercy, of Benevolence, which was why he had stuck with Michael and Lucifer when the others had upped and fled. But after the deaths of many of his brethren over the years, that vow he made had begun to fade.

The death of Gabriel was the final straw. Michael and Lucifer had to battle. The constant stream of deaths at their hand had to stop and he no longer cared which brother lived and which one died.

The apocalypse had to happen as it was destined.

At least the suffering of the collateral would be quick.

 _"Why are you doing this?"_ Grace begged and Zadkiel clenched his fists as she continued to speak. " _Please just think about what you are doing! This is genocide! Do you really think your dad will be happy with you for destroying his creation?"_

"Quiet! I am done talking," Zadkiel hissed. Grace Winchester had hit a nerve.

Who was she to dare question his actions? He intended to keep her deal but her voice in his head was quickly becoming useless baggage. A constant drone he did not need. One that could afford to be thrown away.

Concentrating hard on blocking her out for a moment, Zadkiel reached far down into the darkest area of her mind. When he reached it, he was forced to come to a sudden halt.

 _Interesting_ , he mused. What could be so terrible behind the mental barrier that Grace had tried so desperately to block?

All he had to do was overwhelm her with the onslaught of repressed and forgotten memories then stand back and watch her fight them. In doing so, the last of her strength would fade away and she would cease to exist, leaving Zadkiel to fully take over her body.

Chipping away at the barricade, little by little, the archangel could finally feel them. The memories were pounding against the walls with vigour, begging to be released. Zadkiel was all too willing to comply.

 _"What are you doing?"_

Zadkiel smiled tightly at her fear. Her demand was all in vain. She was the one who accepted him. Now he was the one in control and she was helpless to do anything about it.

Breaking down her barrier was the right decision to make. Her death would be quick and painless. The memories would just overload her. He couldn't have her morality thwarting everything the angels had planned for the last millennium.

The walls finally came crumbling down with a crash and a piercing scream instantly rang through Zadkiel's ears as Grace became engulfed in her memories.

Not long now until the peaceful silence. Mentally, Zadkiel began to back away but her presence was immediately upon him and his mouth fell agape.

Springing to his feet he braced his hands on the edge of a pew as he breathed rasping breaths. She was _still_ fighting. How was this _possible?_

He didn't have any time to react to what happened next. Grace let out her loudest scream yet and suddenly images were forced upon him. Flashing through his mind like pictures, moving behind his eyes at a frighteningly fast pace.

Zadkiel found himself surrounded by the darkest aspects of Grace Winchester's mind. Her thoughts, her feelings, her beliefs. He felt it _all_. Every single fear that the hunter felt was now his own. Down to the last, tiny spec of detail.

 _Fire_. That was all he could see. It surrounded him. The woman on the flame covered ceiling, her beautiful smoky blue eyes, once alive and full of life but now dead and unseeing. A gash slashed through her stomach, blood oozing through her dress.

The image disappeared and another took its place. The screams of Grace and Dean as they reaped the side effects of the crossroad deal - the pain was unbearable as she felt every single claw of the hellhounds shred her skin into ribbons.

Fire again in hell; the flames charring at her skin with hooks embedded into her arms, holding her helpless to stop it. Forty years of endless torture. Every day, the Prince of Hell, Azazel, approached her with the enticing offer for it all to end and every day she held on to the brink of her sanity, refusing.

Sam Winchester dying in her arms; she clutched onto his body, screaming out in rage and agony as Dean supported her, his composure cracking.

More death. Her neglectful father, John Winchester's abuse to make her a stronger hunter. The death of her only childhood friend. A bright shining blue light making its way towards her…

Flames surrounding her again; the true hopelessness and betrayal she felt as a unrecognisable yet familiar figure made his way to her through the relentless torture... a figure with cold forest green eyes...

It was too much for even an archangel to bear. Zadkiel fell to the floor gasping in ragged breaths as he clutched tendrils of his vessel's hair tightly.

"No more. _Please!_ " he yelled out into the silent room and quickly replaced the wall, entrapping the memories once more. It was silent as Zadkiel braced his hands on the stone floor, trying to catch his breath.

Grace's quiet voice filled his head. _"Don't tell anyone,"_ she pleaded.

Zadkiel didn't reply, still forcing his rapid heartbeat to calm down. He had truly underestimated the female Winchester. She had been through more than his brethren had ever endured in their lifetimes and that was saying something.

"How are human emotions so strong," he muttered to himself. Grace didn't answer. He didn't need her to. "How can you forgive him?" Zadkiel was hesitant in asking the question, knowing it would be an incredibly sore subject for the female Winchester but he had to know her reasoning.

 _"It wasn't his fault; he had no idea what he was doing. Azazel tormented him more than he did me. He just wanted it all to stop, even if it meant slicing and dicing up others. He didn't even recognise me. I guess that was Azazel's plan all along. Forcing one sibling to torture the other,"_ Grace murmured sadly.

The archangel could hear her musings. She would never tell her brother, it was her burden to bear alone and now it was his too. Grace couldn't stomach her brother knowing or remembering.

After everything Dean Winchester had done to raise her, protect her, the least she felt like she could do to make it up to him, was to protect him in return. She couldn't have him carrying that weight.

As Grace continued to remain silent in his head, thinking hard Zadkiel was shocked speechless again at her recent revelation. Despite everything the girl had been through, if she had the chance to go back and change what happened, she would keep everything as it was. She would endure the agony all over again in a heartbeat.

Her inner strength was _astounding_.

"How can you _stand_ it?" he uttered in disbelief. Grace had been so absorbed in the memories they had both seen, that she hadn't even noticed the way Zadkiel's eyes had been burning, filling with water as he experienced every single thing she had felt.

 _"Because life isn't just full of hardships. There are good moments too."_

Different memories began to flood through Zadkiel's eyes. He saw the Winchester siblings in the Impala arguing lightly over what cassette to play, singing along at the top of their voices to Bon Jovi as they drove serenely along the endless roads, saving an innocent, meeting Hayley Marshall-Kenner and Hope Mikaelson, sitting on the hood of the Impala revelling in the peace and watching the stars shining down from the night sky.

The emotions Zadkiel felt from her were indescribable. Laughter, joy, peace and the unbreakable love she felt towards her family. They were so happy, so _pure_. Zadkiel found himself for the first time in his immortal life longing to be able to feel.

He would give anything to experience those emotions again. He craved it more than anything.

The revelation struck the archangel hard. As time went by, he had lost the very core of his being. To forgive, to care. All because of his two siblings.

He no longer cared how the battle turned out. He found himself wanting Grace and Sam Winchester to survive... to reunite with Dean again and continue living her life, saving people, hunting things, the family business.

The archangel had judged the girl too fast. She deserved so much but was tied by destiny to die. It was a cruel fate.

 _"You see,"_ Grace finally said after a long moment of silence. _"That is how I stand it... and how I will always stand it."_

Zadkiel was silent, still reeling from everything he had just learned. There was another secret he was keeping from the female Winchester. Grace hadn't noticed but whilst he saw her memories, he had also caught a tiny glimpse into her soul.

Unsurprisingly, her very essence was still pure but after the life she had led, it was not infallible. There were deep cracks on the surface from her torture in hell but the more time she spent around her family, the more they began to heal... she didn't deserve what was to come. None of the siblings did.

Grace Winchester deserved to continue to fight the good fight, to reunite Hope Mikaelson with her family... to finally meet Klaus Mikaelson, the original hybrid, whose soul was bound so strongly to hers and finally find that peace she so desperately wanted.

"Our family broke a very long time ago," Zadkiel whispered as he stood up, resting his arms on the pews as he stared unseeingly ahead, finally deciding to open up a little. It was only fair. "There is only so much drama I could take. Our bond cannot be repaired..." he paused and the next three words were the undeniable truth.

"I envy yours."

Before Grace had the chance to respond, voices abruptly began to fill his head.

Pushing himself away from the pew, Zadkiel tuned in and listened intently, focusing hard on what the angels were saying. From the frantic buzz, it seemed incredibly important. More so than before. He allowed Grace to hear them too. It was hard to distinguish between the multiple conversations but he caught the gist of it.

Michael and Lucifer were at Stull Cemetery. The final battle had begun.

"It's time," Zadkiel breathed, straightening up and he heard a low sigh. Deep down, like Grace, the archangel wished he didn't have to do this, but destiny was a hard thing to run from. There was no other choice. How he wished there was another way.

With that, the archangel disappeared in a flutter of wings, leaving the church even more silent and just as abandoned and forgotten as before.

* * *

 **Hope you liked this chapter and drop a review :)**

 **Part two should be up sooner, I am just editing it now.**


	5. Swan Song - Part Two

A rusting metal sign hung upon the open gates of Stull Cemetery, swinging gently in the breeze. A raven black crow took off into the air, cawing loudly as if it could sense the true evil lurking there.

Lucifer watched the bird fly away with indifference and carried on listening to the sounds of the wind, waiting.

There was a rush of flapping and the archangel spun around. The newcomer may have been wearing the body of Adam Milligan but there was no mistaking the entity lying beneath those uncaring blue eyes.

For a moment the two of them just stared at each other in complete silence, taking the other in. Nothing could be heard except the steadily increasing gale whipping around the surrounding trees, causing the bark to creak.

Lucifer was the one to break the silence. "It's good to see you Michael."

Michael tilted his head very slightly to the side in acknowledgement but other than that his body was completely still. "You too. It's been too long."

"Can you believe it's finally here?"

The stiff composure of Michael cracked slightly and he strode forwards, with a frame more relaxed than before.

"No. Not really," he stated as he stopped, standing face to face with his brother and letting out a short sigh. This was the moment he had been preparing for. He was going to make his father proud. "You ready?" he asked.

Lucifer's face was brooding. "As I'll ever be," he replied softly.

Whilst he was trapped in the cage, alone and insane, all that kept him going was the desire to find Michael and end this. To punish his brother for standing aside like the perfect little soldier he always had been whilst Dad cast him down from heaven like yesterday's garbage.

But now, being in the same vicinity as Michael once more, the devil was having second thoughts.

"Part of me wishes we didn't have to do this," he muttered and a wistful look made its way across his older brother's face.

"Yeah, me to."

"Then _why_ _are we?_ " Lucifer urged, trying to appeal to the side of his brother that was once loyal to him. It was in there, deep down, he could sense it.

But Michael had always been a hard one to sway. "Oh you _know why_ ," he spat, the wistful look disappearing in an instant as fury took over. "I have no choice after what you did." He took a final step forwards so his face was mere centimetres from his brother as he hissed, "You _will_ die by _my_ hand, Lucifer. This is dad's ultimate plan. I will carry out my orders."

"Must these things _always_ end in _violence?_ " a calm female voice interrupted sharply, causing the two brothers to whirl around in irritation at who dared interrupt this important moment.

As soon as their eyes fell on the petite newcomer with the ash brown hair and startling smoky blue eyes, all irritation vanished.

It was as if their movements were synchronised as Michael's and Lucifer's expressions both softened. The two archangels stepped apart, putting some distance between each other, their argument on hold for now. There were more imperative things to deal with.

"How long have you been skulking around, brother?" Michael asked as Lucifer continued to stare dejectedly.

Zadkiel shrugged casually as he joined the fray, coming to a halt, equidistant away from his two siblings. "Oh I have been here… and there."

"Still trying to protect us after all these years," Lucifer mused and Zadkiel pressed his lips together, refraining himself from speaking another word. The middle sibling watched with unnatural calmness as his younger brother hesitantly moved forwards and held out a hand. "Please. Protect me now, brother."

"Zad is not going to fight your battles anymore, _little brother_. This is between you and me," Michael commanded, sending a hard glance towards Zadkiel who couldn't help but roll his eyes when he wasn't looking. He had allowed Grace to seep through a bit.

 _"How did you survive a billion years of this?"_ came the bored tone and Zadkiel's lips twitched slightly before becoming a blank canvas once more.

 _"Patience, Grace Winchester,"_ he thought back _. "Lots and lots of patience."_

"Are you so _blinded_ by your faith in dad that you cannot see the obvious brother?" Lucifer retorted, his eyes snapping back to Michael's "God _made_ everything which means he _made me_ who I am. God _wanted the devil."_ He made sure to emphasise his point and Zadkiel raised an eyebrow as he watched on.

His brother _did_ have a point.

"So why make us fight?" Lucifer continued to question and shook his head. "I just can't figure out the point."

As Zadkiel turned to see Michael's reaction, he was slightly taken aback to see a glimmer of confusion in those blue eyes. "What's your point?"

"We're going to kill each other," Lucifer stated but Michael's face still remained unchanging. Why would it? That was a well-known fact. "And for what? One of dad's tests? We don't even know the answer. We're brothers." Michael looked away and the devil smiled slightly. Maybe he had got to him, just a little bit but that was a big enough leeway. "Let's just walk off the chess board," he implored.

For the first time, the older brother showed some signs of stress. Glancing around for anything to help him decide, he inhaled a deep breath and Lucifer gulped, waiting tensely.

Underneath it all, the younger brother knew what Michael's answer would be. His father's orders were so deeply ingrained into him that Lucifer's implores were simply in vain.

"I'm sorry I can't do that," Michael muttered. "I'm a _good_ son."

Lucifer scoffed but Michael simply ignored him as he turned to the only sibling who was staying silent throughout all this. "You don't honestly believe these lies, do you?"

Zadkiel's fingers twitched in what seemed like exasperation. He had quite enough of this; the two of them, always looking to him for guidance, to back them both up.

No more.

"I wouldn't dare ask for my opinion anymore, Michael," he addressed his brother without care. "I gave up on the two of you a very long time ago. There's only so much fighting between the two of you that I can take." He lowered his eyes to the grassy ground, a glazed look crossing his face as he remembered his vow. "But I made you both a promise at the beginning of creation. One that I intend to keep. That I would be here to watch it happen."

His eyes snapped up to lock on his two brothers who both took a step back at the dark look swirling beneath the depths. "One or all of us will die tonight and I don't care either way."

"Time has hardened you up. I'm impressed," Lucifer said as he regarded his brother in admiration.

"Grace Winchester has gotten to you, hasn't she?" Michael concluded but Zadkiel neither confirmed nor denied the statement. He wasn't about to admit that Grace was still speaking to him in the back of his mind. Giving him the strength he needed to face them without cowardice.

"It doesn't matter," Zadkiel replied before staring at his older brother intently, with as much strength as he could muster. "You see Michael, unlike you, I am not a good son." Then turning to Lucifer, he saw that the archangel was smiling but that quickly drained that from his face as he announced, "But I am not a bad one either."

"Our brother is a _monster_ , Zad! He made dad leave," Michael insisted but Zadkiel only shook his head in exasperation. When would they both get it?

"We _all_ made dad leave because we have had all of eternity to grow and yet here we are, still flapping around like children, blaming each other for our own mistakes and squabbling over who daddy loves more."

Michael and Lucifer stared at him and Zadkiel knew that his words were truer than what they had spouted up with. Truth was, no one knew what dad truly wanted. The three siblings all just assumed that their way was the right one. It wasn't like he was here to confirm or deny any one of them.

It made Zadkiel wonder whether their father truly did care. Surely he would at least be around, to intervene. Which left only one conclusion. He knew the outcome of this and he wanted it to happen.

A niggling feeling in the back of his mind told him that the Winchesters still had a part to play... and the archangel would let Grace play it when the time came.

"It doesn't matter anymore," Michael said before dismissing the middle sibling and turning back to the younger one. "I have to kill you," he announced, his thoughts finally set in stone. No changing them and no turning back.

"If that's the way it's going to be," Lucifer said lowly, grinding his teeth before standing tall, his eyes flashing red in anger. "Then I would like to see you try."

Zadkiel took a step back, observing as his two brothers began to circle each other, eyes fixed firmly on the other as they silently dared the other to make the first move. Any second now and the blast would come.

 _"Gunter gleiben glauchen globen."_

A rumbling sound of a car engine broke the silence and the three archangels' heads snapped up, focusing on the noise in the distance but it wasn't just any noise. It was _music_.

 _"All right, I got somethin' to say._

 _Yeah, it's better to burn out_

 _Yeah, than fade away!"_

Through the gates of the cemetery, a 1964 Chevrolet Impala came rolling into view; a very familiar driver with determined forest green eyes sitting in the front seat behind the wheel.

Michael and Lucifer looked positively enraged yet Zadkiel couldn't help but smirk. Dean Winchester certainly had audacity and guts to drive headfirst into a battle of powerful beings which had existed millenniums before he was even in diapers, the archangel would give him that.

Like Grace, he just couldn't seem to give up.

The car rolled to a halt and the side door swung open.

"Hello boys," Dean stated, swinging the door shut with a slam and resting his arm on the hood of the car with a smug yet hard look on his face as he examined the archangels in turn before they rested on Zadkiel. "Sorry, am I interrupting something?"

Glancing between his two brothers' gobsmacked expressions in amusement, Zadkiel leaned against a tree and crossed his arms, waiting.

Now they were finally getting somewhere.

He could hear Grace cursing in the back of his mind and quite the vocabulary of words she had. Not that he blamed her for acting this way. Her brother must be suicidal for pulling a stunt like this one yet he couldn't help but internally applaud him.

"What are you doing here Dean Winchester?" he asked, quickly taking the lead in the confrontation. For, Grace's best interest, the archangel had to deal with this calmly. If left to Michael and Lucifer to sort this out, there would be nothing left of the hunter.

Nothing except a puddle of blood and guts on the floor.

Dean strode forwards and casually raised his hand over his head. There was a flash of car headlights as the impala locked itself. "We need to talk," he stated, pocketing the keys.

It seemed like such a normal human movement but Zadkiel was no fool. Underneath the facade the older Winchester put up, there was rage. Uncontrollable rage at what was happening.

"Dean, even for you, this is a whole new mountain of _stupid_ ," Lucifer commented, his anger gone and in its place, his blue eyes glittered as a dark smile curved on his lips.

"I don't know, brother," Zadkiel argued lightly, shrugging himself off the tree and coming to a halt beside the younger archangel as he regarded Dean thoughtfully. "Some would class it as bravery."

"I'm not interested in your opinions, I am talking to my siblings," Dean retorted sharply and Zadkiel arched an eyebrow as the hunter looked him directly in the eyes. Once again, the archangel was reminded of the fear Grace felt in hell; the forest green illuminated through a raging inferno. "When I get you out of this Grace, I swear to God, I will kill you myself."

Zadkiel's lips twitched as he heard Grace retreat slightly further into the back of his mind at the sound of her brother's wrath but something about the boy's sentence had left him confused. " _Why would he swear to God?" he mused. "What's dad going to do about this?"_

Despite the situation, he felt Grace let out a strained laugh in his head. " _Human saying, think nothing of it."_

"You're no longer the vessel Dean, you've got no right to be here."

Dean's attention reluctantly strayed away from Zadkiel to face the angel who could have been controlling him if it weren't for the damn loophole. The guilt clawed at him as he looked at the half-brother he would never get to fully know. "Adam if you are in there somewhere, then I am so sorry."

"Adam isn't home right now," Michael jeered.

"Well you're next on my list buttercup but right now I need five minutes with them," Dean retorted and inclined his head towards Lucifer and Zadkiel who looked slightly confused.

"You _little_ _maggot_ ," Michael spat, striding forwards with the intent to kill. Hearing Grace shouting in his mind, Zadkiel stepped forwards, putting himself in between his brother and hers. "Zadkiel, get _out_ of my way!" Michael demanded.

Zadkiel planted his feet on the floor, determined to protect the hunter who was stunned at the turn of events. "I made a promise to Grace Winchester, her brother will remain unharmed."

He stayed still as Michael squared up to him. "Don't get sentimental now brother, he is no longer a part of this story."

Zadkiel raised a twitching hand, unsure if he was ready to do what he needed to do.

"Hey! Assbut!" A voice interrupted and before Zadkiel's eyes, his brother erupted up in flames before disappearing in a cloud of ashes.

From behind the wisps, his eyes fell on the two figures; Castiel and an older hunter, poised and ready to fight. He expected to feel something, seeing his brother's temporary demise but there was nothing but emptiness. The moment he stood in front of Dean, proved it.

His loyalty towards his family was dissolving into nothingness but he couldn't say the same for Lucifer.

His younger brother stared at Castiel before abruptly raising his fingers and with a simple click, Castiel exploded, becoming nothing but a pile flesh on the ground. Turning around to face the remaining bystanders,

Lucifer smirked, revelling in the shock, grief and fear. "No one dicks with my brother but me," he announced before rounding on Dean.

 _"Zadkiel, please."_

Zadkiel clenched his fists, unsure of what to do once again. Before today, this had never happened throughout the course of his immortal life. Michael wasn't truly dead but the collateral had risen again. Lucifer had murdered an angel in cold blood. One of their brethren.

That was the ultimate treason.

"Sammy? Gracie?" Reluctantly, Zadkiel turned to face Dean who's gaze was flitting from him to Lucifer and back again as he continued pleadingly, "Can any of you hear me?"

 _"I can hear you brother, I'm here."_

"Oh Sammy can hear you alright," Lucifer hissed and with a sharp flick, Dean was flung back with such a force that he landed with a sickening crack against the impala, wincing as the glass window shattered where his head made impact.

Blearily, the green-eyed Winchester looked up, feeling nauseous as his brother stalked toward him but it wasn't his brother behind those smoky blue orbs. Sammy would never do this to him.

He was gone.

Blinking rapidly, he tried to look towards Grace. He had to have made some kind of impact with her. He couldn't bear it if he hadn't.

He braced himself as Lucifer reached him.

 _Bang_

Three shots instantly came from behind the devil but he was completely unaffected by the pain or impact as the bullets plunged through his back.

Dean watched on in horror, meeting Bobby's eyes who shrugged helplessly as Lucifer turned to face him in rage. With a jolt of his hand there was another crack and Bobby's head twisted unnaturally to the side before slumping to the ground unmoving.

 _"No!"_

There was a split second of agony as Grace screamed out in Zadkiel's head in tune with her brother's yells and he clenched his eyes shut. The amount of pain he felt was off the charts as Grace had stared unseeingly through his eyes at the older hunter, the man who had been more of a father to her than John Winchester ever had been.

"Sammy! Gracie!"

"They won't help you. You are all alone and your siblings will hear nothing but the snap of your bones." Lucifer grinned ruthlessly before throwing out his fist.

He struck Dean down to the ground with the perfect right hook and Dean coughed hard, bracing his shaking hands on the ground, blood spewing from his parted lips.

 _"Every. Last. One."_ He grabbed the collar of Dean's jacket and yanked his limp body off the floor.

Shoving him against the impala with a loud thud, he began to throw punch after punch and despite the colour of Dean's skin slowly turning red and black with each impact, the eldest Winchester didn't make a sound and did nothing to fight back.

"It's okay," Dean spluttered. "I'm here Sammy. I'll be _damned_ if I let you and Gracie die alone. I'm not gonna leave _either_ of you."

Despite the agony he must felt, his orbs met Zadkiel's who just stood watching with conflicted eyes.

"I'm here Gracie," Dean pleaded, lifting one limp arm and reaching out desperately. " _Please_ hear me."

This was not how it was supposed to happen. It wasn't right. None of this was right. He could hear Grace's tortured yells in the back of his mind as she watched Dean slowly break little by little. And yet he was still there. Refusing to leave.

"You would risk your life to save your siblings?" Zadkiel whispered hoarsely to himself before nodding. His decision was officially made. Let the consequences happen... let her lock them all away... while he still had the courage.

 _"End this Grace Winchester,"_ he thought to her before closing his eyes shut and when they popped open there was a new yet very familiar life in them.

Grace was back.

Flexing her arms she sighed in relief, realising she was in total control. Zadkiel was still there in the back of her mind but he wasn't watching, placing himself behind the scenes as he let Grace do what she had to do. The gratitude she felt towards him was immense.

Not wasting any precious seconds, she thrust her arm out towards the two figures before her.

"No one dicks with my brother but me," she muttered and with a sharp flick of her hand, Lucifer was sent flying across the clearing.

Sprinting forwards, Grace skidded to her knees before placing a hand over the nearly unconscious figure, ignoring his automatic flinch as she leant down and murmured softly in his ear.

"I can hear you."

The scene seemed to freeze and Dean raised his head, his mouth agape and his green eyes glistening as he looked at her like he was staring into heaven for the first time. Grace smiled sadly and placed her hands gently on his shoulders, gripping them firmly.

"I'm here brother," she reassured him. "I'll _always_ be here."

Body shaking hard, Dean reached up with the last amount of strength he had and covered his sister's hands with his own, to at least prove to himself that she was real and not some figment of his imagination.

"Grace." He breathed her name through rasps of air but she shushed him. He needed to rest, she would be damned if he died after everything he had done to bring them back.

A movement came from behind them and Dean's eyes flicked over her left shoulder briefly before attempting to scramble up to force Grace behind him. He wanted to protect his baby sister but Grace just pushed him gently but firmly back down to the ground.

Normally, Dean would be stronger but with Zadkiel still inside her, she still had access to his angelic powers. Lucifer would not get another hit in while she was still breathing.

Keeping her brother as far away from the approaching entity as possible, Grace spun round to face him, shoulders back and head high. "Sammy, you can _do this_ ," she whispered.

The first impact was the worst. A sharp pain as he struck her cheek but she still stood tall. It may have hurt but nothing hurt more than the worry that they wouldn't be able to get their baby brother back.

She was ready for the next hit. When Lucifer raised his fist back, her hand struck out, catching his wrist in her grasp. "Come back to us Sammy, you are _stronger_ than him, you _always_ have been."

From behind her, she could sense Dean forcing himself back onto his feet. "We're here Sammy," he began and Grace finished his sentence.

"We're not gonna leave you."

They never would. They would fight Lucifer till the end if they had to if there was a chance that their little brother would eventually break through.

A brief flicker of emotion entered those strangely blank eyes but it was quickly gone as soon as it appeared. Lucifer smirked, his smoky eyes boring into her identical ones.

Grace felt well and truly afraid. And when she was afraid there was one thing she did. One thing she had always done since that night so many years ago.

She could feel its small weight in her jacket pocket and ever so slowly, she reached her hand into it, and clenched her hand over the object before pulling it out and staring at it.

Lucifer paused. His hand, still suspended in the air, began to shake as Grace slowly uncurled her fist. The three siblings stared down at the small army man as memories suddenly engulfed them.

 _Grace passing her brothers a knife so they could carve their names into the impala floor beside hers. Sam shoving one of his army men into the ashtray, Dean pushing some Lego bricks into the air vents._

 _"Bitch."_

 _Grace rooting through the cassette tapes before chucking three to Sam who looked down before showing Dean two for his approval. Dean shrugged and the three of them smiled as he put Motorhead in the cassette player._

 _"Jerk."_

 _Lying back on the hood of the impala, their eyes fixed on the starry sky._

 _"Brat."_

 _The three of them with their arms wrapped tight around each other in a warm embrace._

 _"We keep each other safe. Always."_

Grace was started back into reality as a hand slowly entwined with hers. Breathing heavily, Sam Winchester forced out the words with maximum effort. "I've got him."

At the three words, Dean sagged and Grace quickly supported him in her arms. With the help of Sammy, the two younger siblings lowered their older one gently to the floor. He stared at them unseeingly and Sam got to his feet, staggering back.

The two smoky eyed Winchesters looked at each other, sharing a nod of acceptance. Sam reached into his jacket pocket whilst Grace stayed there on the ground, unmoving. She turned back to Dean and placed a palm against his cheek.

"It's okay, brother," she whispered before swallowing hard, her voice breaking slightly. "It's all going to be okay."

Rising steadily to her feet, Grace forced herself to turn away, back towards Sam who pulled out his hand and threw the Horsemen rings to the floor.

 _"Bvtmon… tabges… babalon."_

The rings sank into the ground and the grass was sucked down in a perfect circle, revealing the gaping black hole. Grace stared at it without seeing. Zadkiel may have given her full reign once more but she had only known him a _day_.

He may not be loyal to his siblings now but what was to stop him from changing his mind in another hundred or thousand years? After all, the pull of family was not something to be taken lightly.

From deep in her mind, Zadkiel agreed with her decision, albeit reluctantly.

The wind picked up, surging through the trees destructively. Hair whipping around her face, Grace approached Sam who stared back at her fearfully before taking her hand in his. The younger two siblings looked at each other through strained faces.

This was the only other way it could end. The only way everyone else could survive.

The world was not going to end today.

"Sam! Grace! Step back!" A voice rang across the clearing and the two siblings froze.

"You're gonna have to _make_ us," Sam yelled out towards the archangel and Grace winced slightly as his hand tightened around hers.

"It's not going to end this way. I have to fight my brother and Zad must be there till the end. It's our _destiny,_ " Michael demanded loudly as he stepped forwards warily, a slither of fear crossing his eyes as he stared at the entrance to the cage.

This was wasting precious time they did not have. From the way Sam's hand was trembling uncontrollably in her grasp, she knew that he couldn't force Lucifer away for very much longer. Their window of opportunity was rapidly closing. They didn't have time for this.

"Screw your destiny," Grace bellowed through the wind which roared around them like a tornado, almost drowning out her voice. "We humans get to fight for what we believe in too."

Inhaling a deep breath in, she turned her back on the angel to face the empty darkness before her. Sending a side glance towards her younger brother, her heart warmed when she saw him staring back at her through strained eyes.

"Don't let go of me, Sammy."

Sam managed a tight smile at her words as he loosened his hand on hers before squeezing gently. " _Never,_ Gracie."

She nodded then simultaneously the two younger siblings craned their heads towards their brother who was sat slumped against the impala door, his face battered and bruised. Grace could tell he was fighting hard to remain conscious.

Her eyes stung as she took him in, memorising every last tiny bit of detail of his face.

She found herself wanting so much more from this life. She wanted to stay with her brothers forever. But her life had already been decided for her when she became a hunter. Their lives, after all, were not a long one when you had this occupation.

It was so foolish to think otherwise.

Her heart physically broke as she realised that this was the last time she would ever see Dean's face. At least it would be the last thing she would ever see and that made everything seem a lot less terrible.

Grace prayed to whatever being was out there that her brother would survive and move on once this had all finished. Grieve and forget and _live_. She knew her hopes were useless, her brother wasn't like that but at least the thought gave her a semblance of comfort in her darkest hour.

Inhaling a deep breath to quell her increasing fear, she closed her eyes, Sam following suit. Dean watched on helplessly as his siblings retreated a step back towards the gaping hole then leaned back.

"NO!"

Sam and Grace automatically reached out with their free hands and grasped onto the fabric of Michael's shirt, yanking him towards them hard. The force of their pull caused the three of them to stumble and Grace found that her shoe no longer met solid ground.

Her stomach plummeted and her heart leaped. She squeezed her eyes tighter shut, her hold on Sammy's hand would always be her only lifeline.

 _"I am so sorry Grace Winchester. I thought I could do this. Sacrifice myself but I refuse to be trapped in there with them for any moment longer. I will fulfil your wish, I swear to you."_

Grace's eyes shot open at the distorted voice at the back of her mind. There was a sudden flash of blinding white light but it was too late.

She was falling.

Zadkiel had escaped and Grace was falling through darkness, down through thunder and lightning towards the cage. A prison made by God himself, where she would spend the remainder of eternity in inescapable agony.

* * *

 _Endings are hard._

Dean stared unseeingly at the grassy ground where the hole had just been. If he hadn't been there to witness what had just occurred, he would have convinced himself that none of this had happened. That none of this had been real.

But it had... and it _was_.

He didn't know what to feel. All that was flooding through his body was shock and numbness. He wanted to shout, he wanted to rage, to cry but he couldn't. He couldn't bring himself to believe that his siblings were well and truly gone.

Groaning, Dean dragged his broken body forwards, ignoring the sharp pains and aches as he crawled towards the place where the pit had been. Once he reached it, he knelt, his legs tucked underneath him as he placed his hands on the grass, the green shoots tickling in-between his fingers.

There was nothing to prove that there had ever been an abyss in the ground except for the metal key and the plastic green object lying abandoned, side by side.

Dean moved his hand and closed his fingers around the Horsemen rings and the small army man. His body shook and for once he let his barricade drop.

Tears streamed down his face uncontrollably and he did nothing to stop them as they splattered off his cheek and onto his jeans where they seeped through the rough denim fabric.

There was a slight movement behind him and sensing that he was no longer alone, the only surviving Winchester turned his head and his eyes widened as he took in the figure staring down at him forlornly.

"Cas. You're _alive?"_ he uttered in disbelief.

"I'm better than that." The trench coat angel extended his arm and placed his fingertips to Dean's head. Where the bruises and blood had been, there was now afresh skin in its place. The aches and pains were gone. Dean Winchester was completely healed.

Rising ever so slowly to his feet, Dean stared at the angel who had been his friend since he had pulled him and his sister from hell. The two men looked at each other with broken expressions as they were forced back into the present.

All previous anger Dean had felt towards Cas earlier was gone. It was never the angel's fault that Grace had turned herself over. He knew that Cas had cared for Grace deeply and it must kill him inside as much as it killed Dean to realise that she was well and truly gone.

For good this time. No loopholes.

The tears began to dry on Dean's face, leaving sticky tracks as a sudden thought entered his head. "Cas. Are you God?" he asked in wonder.

Castiel smiled faintly. "That's a nice compliment, but no." Dean glanced towards the ground and Castiel continued, "Although, I do believe he brought me back. New and improved." The rest of his words were left unsaid. Cas knew that he had been resurrected so the older Winchester had not lost everything. There were still two people in the clearing who would always have his back.

Cas turned and strode towards the crumpled body of Bobby Singer and crouched down, placing two fingers to his temple. There were multiple cracks before Bobby inhaled a sharp gasp of air. Dean's heart pounded but it still remained in pieces.

Forcing himself into a sitting position, the older hunter met Cas' sad eyes before locking his gaze with Dean's in hope. When Dean shook his head, Bobby's sorrowful eyes fell to the ground.

Dean's eyes burned as he looked down towards the two objects in his hands but this time, he refused to let the tears flow. That would only happen with more time.

* * *

 _Any chapped-ass monkey with a keyboard can poop out a beginning, but endings are impossible._

 _You try to tie up every loose end, but you never can._

 _The fans are always gonna bitch. There's always gonna be holes. And since it's the ending, it's all supposed to add up to something._

 _I'm telling you, they're a raging pain in the ass._

The impala sped down along the long empty road a few days later, the headlight's lighting up the dark path ahead. The two individuals in the front seats were sitting in silence, listening to the quiet rumbling of the engine.

For the very first time, no music was being played; the cassette tapes lay abandoned in the back. Hearing anything now would prove to be too painful.

Dean clenched the steering wheel, focusing hard as he pressed down on the gas pedal, adding a little bit more pressure. He finally forced himself to make conversation. "What are you gonna do now?"

There was a slight pause as Castiel stared out the window, musing. "Return to heaven, I suppose."

Dean raised one eyebrow, not believing what he was hearing. _"Heaven?"_ he repeated, taking his eyes off the road to look at the angel.

"With Michael in the cage, I'm sure it's total anarchy up there."

"So what, you're the new sheriff in town?" Dean mocked uncaringly and not picking up on the sarcasm, Castiel laughed softly.

"I like that, yeah. I suppose I am."

 _Unbelievable. "Wow."_ It was hard for Dean to hide his disgust. His knuckles went whit whilst he tried his keep control over the car. "God gives you a new shiny set of wings and suddenly you're his _bitch_ again."

"I don't know what God wants," Castiel replied in confusion before shaking his head. "I don't know if he'll even return. It just… seems like the right thing to do."

"Well if you do see him, you tell him I'm coming for him next." Dean retorted, his voice hard and unchanging but his eyes had narrowed into slits.

Sensing Castiel's suddenly intense look on him, Dean rolled his eyes but met his stare straight on.

"You're angry," Castiel stated softly and Dean looked away, his mouth twisting, not bothering to hide his distaste anymore. Anger was an understatement. He was borderline furious.

"He helped." Dean let out a loud scoff interrupting him but Cas persisted, "Maybe even more then we realised."

The green eyed hunter couldn't keep a handle on his rage as the words began to spill out. "Well that's easy for you to say, he brought you back! But what about _Sam_? What about _Grace_? What about _me_ huh? Where's my grand prize?"

He was shouting out the words but Castiel stayed silent, knowing Dean needed to get this off his chest. The angel still didn't have a full handle on what emotions meant but he was not naïve enough to miss that this emotion had been churning in Dean Winchester for the past few days.

"All I got is my brother and my sister in a _hole_!"

There was a silence that was filled with nothing but Dean's pants and Castiel waited for him to calm down. It was understandable what the Winchester was feeling. Castiel had already thought he felt it to. He found himself already missing Grace and Sam Winchester with a passion he didn't even realise he had.

Maybe that was the real reason that he was returning to heaven deep down. He was running. He couldn't be around to see Dean die too. He didn't want to hear him grieve. That would make it real.

Unless it didn't _have_ to be…

"You got what you asked for Dean," Cas finally replied. "No paradise. No hell. Just more of the same." When Dean didn't answer Cas uttered, "I _mean it,_ Dean. What would you rather have? Peace? Or freedom?"

Dean continued to stay silent and the angel let him. Reaching into the pocket of his trench coat, he placed a folded up note on the dashboard. "Grace and Sam would want you to read that," he murmured and Dean's eyes strayed to it before snapping his head back to the road.

Castiel sighed. It wasn't going to be this way. He was not going to heaven. Not just yet. God had granted him all this power and he was going to do something with it.

With that there was a rapid flap of wings and Dean turned his head to stare at the empty side seat. "Well you really suck at goodbye's you know that?" he grumbled to himself before giving the steering wheel a small twist to the right, pulling in to the edge of the road.

Turning the engine off, he grasped the note in his hands and slowly unfolded it, his eyes scanning the address.

So Hayley and Hope had moved on found themselves a nice and cosy new home in Tennessee. Knowin' Hayley, the place would be safe and in the middle of nowhere. Not that he blamed her. Bobby's house held so many memories that everyone wished to forget.

Yet he couldn't bring himself to pick the tiny slip of paper up and shred it into pieces.

Tapping his fingers against the steering wheel, Dean just sat there, for the first time ever, he was completely unsure of what he wanted to do next.

* * *

A dark hooded figure was standing on a black marble porch; his eyes closed as he leaned against a chalk white pillar and revelled in the warm night air. When he was certain the two people inside were asleep, he stealthily reached out a hand and twisted the doorknob slowly.

The door swung open without a sound and the figure stepped forwards into the entrance hallway of one of Tennessee's most luxurious residences.

His footsteps echoed slightly against the polished oak wood flooring which gleamed as the moonlight shone upon it through the clear glass windows, but the sound wasn't enough to wake them. Not even a supernatural.

Heart beating fast, he took a sharp left and his attention was drawn towards the long mahogany table which took up a vast amount of space of the dining room. He had time to admire the crystal chandelier which hung from the ceiling, sending tiny specks of light towards the furniture below.

Knowing that no one would interrupt him at this time of night, the figure reached inside his cloak to pull out a small delicate package and placed it carefully in the middle of the table. Hayley Marshall-Kenner was sure to find it there.

Taking a seat, he rested his elbows on the table for a moment before drawing back his hood, to reveal quite an ordinary looking man with short tousled midnight hair and tanned skin. When he chose the body at the hospital, he made sure the coma patient had the same smoky blue eyes that _she_ had.

In memory of _her_.

He had done what he needed to do. Grace Winchester had been right all along. Even after all his hardships, nothing could change his core, not even his brothers. He had once been the angel of benevolence and he would continue to be, although in a slightly different, yet more permanent form.

You see, Grace and Sam weren't the only ones who had made a sacrifice. He had too; out of guilt, he had committed one of the highest treasons that an archangel could have done. But the outcome for the family upstairs would be worth it.

He just wished that he hadn't been so cowardly.

He should be in the cage right now with his brothers. Locked away from humanity so the three of them couldn't cause any further damage. At least now he no longer had the power to open the cage and he wouldn't go looking for anyone who did.

If she ever knew, he hoped she would at least be happy with what he had done for her. Grace Winchester; the brave, brave human his father had created, the woman who had made the ultimate sacrifice along with her brothers.

The three siblings had stopped the apocalypse so that he and every other living person could sleep soundly in their beds tonight.

His eyes stung as he pushed the chair back and once again stood on his two feet. As soon as he closed the door and felt the warm air caress his face, he let the tears trickle down his cheeks. Zadkiel embraced the emotion.

After all, this was what it meant to be _human_.

* * *

After a while, Dean Winchester had finally plucked up the courage to return to the junkyard and Bobby of course was waiting there for him as always, with open arms.

Of course he wouldn't be angry but Dean wanted him to shout, to yell, hell even curse and call him an idjit for not getting in touch sooner… yet all that stared back at him was concerned and pitiful eyes.

Dean _hated_ it.

He didn't stay at the older hunter's house for long, hell he couldn't even bring himself to step through the front door. If he did, all he would see would be the ghosts of his siblings roaming the rooms, lounging on the sofa, researching countlessly through the endless pile of books, downing a few beers, laughing at something so hard that for one shining second, they almost would feel like they didn't have a single care in the world.

It would be too much.

So they talked outside for a while and in the end he allowed Bobby to pull him in for one last hug.

"You take care of yourself, boy," the hunter said gruffly, patting his shoulder and Dean just turned away, getting into the impala once more with no set destination in mind as he drove away, Bobby watching him until he was completely out of sight.

 _This is the last Dean and Bobby will see of each other for a very long time. And, for the record, at this point next week, Bobby will be hunting a rugaru outside of Dayton. But not Dean._

 _Dean didn't want Cas to save him._

 _Every part of him, every fiber he's got, wants to die, or find a way to bring Grace and Sam back._

 _But he isn't gonna do either._

 _Because he made a promise._

* * *

He had tried everything. Hunting. Sex... _countless_ _sex_ , killing, drinking but nothing was able fill up the dark void inside.

His life was made up of enduring the pain in the day then experiencing it all again at night. Nothing could protect him from the nightmares which constantly replayed the events of Stull Cemetery over and over in vivid detail in his mind.

He thought sleep was supposed to bring peace. Whoever said that had blurted out a load of crap.

A month had passed until Dean could no longer take it. At least not alone. The loneliness, the constant silence...that was the worst part.

He had been driving for days, not even stopping to eat or sleep. It was becoming harder to these days but he hoped that his destination would give him some solace, even if it was only a miniscule bit.

The sun was setting in the sky when he finally brought the car to a steady halt and killed the engine. Leaning out the window, he watched the horizon through steady eyes, his pupils reflecting the last of the ember rays which forced their way through the slowly darkening clouds. In a moment, evening would fade into twilight and the darkness above would be littered with stars.

If Grace was here, she would have called it beautiful. Dean and Sam would just laugh it off but internally, their breaths would have been taken away at one of nature's most finest scenes.

Forcing his eyes away, Dean turned his attention back to the dashboard where the crumpled note had been clumsily sellotaped on so as not to lose it. Double checking the address, the hunter opened the car door and slid out.

Taking his sweet time so as to try and convince himself that this would be such a bad idea, he slowly climbed up the marble steps leading to the porch. He gingerly raised a fisted hand and knocked three times.

As soon as the last knock echoed through the house, the door opened. The face which met him was pale with shock.

"Hey Hayley," Dean said with a smile and instantly found himself in a warm embrace.

"Thank God, I thought the worst," Hayley murmured into his shirt, her arms locked around his neck with no intention of letting go but Dean didn't once complain.

Finally she pulled back, her hands grasping his arms, her dark eyes studying his forest ones. "Are you okay? Is everyone okay?"

"I-" Dean started but faltered.

He _couldn't_ lie to her. Cas had told her and Hope nothing, just watched them from afar to check they had settled in properly. In time he would explain everythin' but he knew she would jump to the right conclusion with what he was about to say.

"I could really use a beer right now. I've been researching a lot and I think I have a lead on the Blue River pack… I…" he swallowed hard as he struggled to force the next words out. He was idiotic to think that he could do this alone. "I don't know where else to _go."_

His voice broke towards the end and Hayley's eyes filled with tears, instantly understanding. "Yeah, of course. You're always welcome. You know that."

The dam broke and Hayley instantly hugged him again, the two of them shaking with sobs.

"Dean?"

Another pair of arms wrapped round his waist but these were tiny, hands barely interlocking at the back and Dean closed his eyes exhaling a long breath as he, Hayley Marshall-Kenner and Hope Mikaelson stayed in that position until the night sky was filled with stars.

* * *

 _So, what's it all add up to? It's hard to say. But me, I'd say this was a test... for Sam, Dean and Grace. And I think they did all right._

Hayley and Dean reclined on a large sofa. After sending Hope up to bed, the hybrid had been spending the best part of five minutes chewing on her lip.

Dean had been gulping down his beer whilst watching her through furrowed brows. Something had been eating at her from the moment he stepped through the door and he waited patiently until she decided to tell him what was on her mind.

Finally, Hayley sprung to her feet and crossed the living room towards a desk in the corner. Pulling open a draw, she picked something up and made her way back to Dean, faltering in her steps once or twice.

Once she stood before him, she spoke. "I found this in one of the rooms one morning. It was lying on a table and addressed to me. I don't even know how it got there. I don't even know what it is."

Slowly, Dean got to his feet and took the small package from Hayley's grasp. Turning the label attached to it around, his heart hammered as he read the words.

 _A grace from Grace._

Astonished, Dean pulled away the wrapping to reveal a small glass vial with a shimmering pure white gas trapped inside.

His mind was whirring with questions but one major one in particular. How the hell had his sister managed to get her hands on _that_? Better yet, his sister was in a cage. So who had dropped it off? The only logical explanation was Cas but Dean was certain that his friend didn't have the first clue on how to extract another angel's _grace_.

"Why would she want me to have this?" Hayley asked uncertainly and Dean's eyes bulged as he came to the revelation.

"Because angel grace has healin' properties." He tilted the glass from side to side with amazement. Even now Grace had made sure to look after them. "I don't know the extent but if it was mixed with the blood of the seven packs..."

Hayley caught on with a gasp, her face alight with a new sense of hope as she breathed out, "We may have ourselves a cure."

* * *

 _Up against good, evil, angels, devils, destiny and God himself, the three siblings made their own choice._

 _They chose family._

 _And, well... isn't that kinda the whole point?_

Chuck paused as he stared at the screen thoughtfully. No longer in a dressing gown, he was now sat clad in a crisp white shirt, his hair neatly combed and his glasses gone. There were only six letters left to go and the book would be over.

Fingers hovering over the keyboard, he typed the final two words making it official.

 _The End._

Chuck sat back and reached out, grabbing the glass of alcohol and swirling it around gently before downing it in one and placing it back on the table beside the empty bottle.

Sitting there, he relished in his accomplishment and a wide smile made its way across the prophet's face before he vanished into thin air.

 _No doubt – endings are hard. But then again... nothing ever really ends, does it?_

* * *

The night was quiet. The Tennessee air was still. A lone lamp was positioned a little away from the large house, flickering dangerously. Cracks began to form on the surface of the glass before the bulb finally shattered into pieces, extinguishing any source of light it had once cast.

Hope Mikaelson's head shot up from her pillow, stifling a loud scream. Her cerulean eyes darted to the side towards the open window. She forced the covers away from her and rose out of bed.

Pushing a stray strand of auburn hair behind her ear, she walked, as if in a trance towards the window and squinted out into the distance but there was nothing there. She could see and feel nothing except endless forest and darkness.

Shaking her head, she sighed and turned away. The young girl completely missed the two black shadows standing under the broken lamp, completely still.

Their blank eyes focused firmly on the house as a lone clap of thunder exploded through the sky.

* * *

 **Hope I did this chapter justice! Please review :)**


	6. A New Lead

_One Year Later._

Vincent Griffith stood inside the St Anne's Catholic church, facing the witches of New Orleans; all of whom were sat in the pews, listening intently to the former Regent's speech. Hanging on to every word.

They may have been powerful magical beings but every one of them were so focused on Vincent's words echoing through the church that they were completely oblivious to the two silhouettes watching the display silently from within the shadows.

To the figures, Vincent's speech was just words, a complete load of drivel but the two of them had to admit, there were a few sentences which stood out.

"This week marks five years since the fall of the Mikaelsons. Five years of peace. And we paid a high price for that peace."

The male figure couldn't help but leer at that as he crossed his arms and leant against the brick wall behind him. How _naive_ these witches were. They had _no_ _idea_ what the definition of a high price truly was.

For the two figures had paid a much higher price for a much bigger peace. So much larger than the fate of one trivial city.

The male glanced towards his female companion to see what she made of this. He was not surprised to see her tapping her foot quietly against the floor, looking positively bored as the warlock continued to speak.

"Now, this ain't the first time that we faced conflict. Each and every single one of us here has faced their fair share of monsters." Vincent shuddered, causing the female to roll her eyes. "I swear, I feel sometimes the city just has evil lurking in the shadows. For a long time, we've managed to keep our monsters buried. And now we've got to make sure that they _stay_ buried."

The witches nodded in agreement but the figures had heard enough. Simultaneously, they turned around and snuck out of the church without gathering any attention. They stepped out into the New Orleans sunshine, the midday sun beating down on their faces, causing them to sweat as they looked around.

There were people laughing, chatting, playing instruments along the streets… it should have caused the figures joy to see the peace but instead they felt nothing.

As they strode down the street side by side, Vincent's words rung in the woman's ears. It would be hard to keep monsters buried if they had already started to rise.

And then, no speech, no words of wisdom to boost the spirits of the desperate, would be able stop the oncoming storm.

* * *

 _Hayley didn't know what possessed her to trust that the two hunters she had just met were not going to kill her and her daughter once she took them to their destination. The hybrid was still trying to wrap her head around the fact that these two humans were actually the legendary Winchesters._

 _She knew the stories she was told as a young girl off by heart. The Winchester family was the greatest family of hunters to ever walk this earth. Every supernatural being knew of them. They passed down the stories to their children._

 _Many thought they were simply ghost tales, a way to make them eat their vegetables. Hayley was one of those who believed that... until now._

 _As she drove, she couldn't help but slide her gaze from the road to sneak just one more peek at her two extra passengers._

 _Dean was leant back in the passenger seat; his form tense as he ratted out directions. Every so often, he would look up at the front mirror to subtly check on his younger sister._

 _Grace Winchester was sat in the back with Hope Mikaelson in the seat beside her. The young five year old was completely relaxed, chatting animatedly about her sleeping beauty family who were locked inside the van they were towing and how her mom was trying to find a way to wake them._

 _Hayley was slightly wary at how Hope acted around two siblings with such ease but if there was anything she had learned over the past five years, it was that her child had almost flawless instincts. If Hope trusted them, then she would give them the benefit of the doubt._

 _Hope was currently telling Grace about the stories of her dad which were always told to her every night before she went to bed. Hayley could tell that Grace was trying hard to listen but it seemed like the stress of the day was getting to the female hunter._

 _Grace's eyelids kept drooping before they snapped back open in an attempt to follow the kid's conversation._

 _"Mom says dad was the King who sacrificed himself to save our family," Hope was saying to Grace who was slowly nodding along._

 _"Your dad must be very brave," Grace murmured, trying to stifle a yawn and Hope nodded thoughtfully._

 _"Yeah, he is. Do you think I could be brave too?" She looked towards the female hunter inquiringly._

 _Hayley could see that her daughter was curious, yet at the same time worried for what Grace's answer would be. It was obvious that Hope was trying to live up to the image of her father that Hayley had described._

 _"I think," Grace began, pondering her answer over as she turned to face the young girl. "You are the bravest young girl I know."_

 _"Because you're the only young girl she knows," Hayley heard Dean mutter from beside her and she narrowed her eyes but otherwise, she ignored him, focusing back on the road._

 _"How do you know?" Hope asked, sitting up straighter as she gave Grace her full attention._

 _"Because I saw the way you reacted in that gas station. You were afraid but you forced it down. I have met people four, five times your age who would have run if they had the chance." Grace trailed off and stared into Hope's sea blue eyes, smiling serenely. "We become brave when we are afraid because it takes bravery to conquer that fear."_

 _Hope smiled back, content with the answer before relaxing back in her seat and within the next five minutes of silence, the young girl had closed her eyes. Her light snores soon filled the truck._

 _"So," Dean cut to the chase once he was certain the auburn haired girl was asleep. "Time to spit it out sweetheart, what's the uncensored story?"_

 _Hayley paused and her driving began to slow. From the back seat, Grace leaned forwards. "What my brother so graciously means is that we just need to know what kind of supernatural being we are protecting." When Hayley remained silent Grace added, "You tell us your story and we will tell you ours."_

 _Hayley looked at Dean who didn't seem on board with his sister but she decided to throw caution to the wind, to see if her daughter was right. "Hope is part of the Mikaelson family."_

 _Dean did not show any sign of recognition, it was Grace however who inhaled a sharp breath. Her brother whirled around to look at her, silently demanding an explanation but her wide smoky blue orbs were fixed solely on Hayley._

 _"The original vampires," she stated and Hayley nodded in affirmation._

 _"Wait hold up, you're tellin' me you're a vampire?" Dean asked before scoffing. "No offence lady but we've seen vamps and you ain't holdin' up to that title."_

 _It was Hayley's turn to look confused but Grace sighed at her brother whilst rubbing at her temple, a signal of the tiredness she was feeling. "There is more than one breed of vampire Dean. Read Bobby's books when we get to his."_

 _"You and Sammy, nerds the both of you," Dean muttered under his breath but it was affectionate. He decided to let his sister handle this, making a mental note to get his hands on those books as soon as possible._

 _"So which one is Hope's father?"_

 _Hayley wished Grace hadn't asked that question. Eyes watching the road, she clenched the steering wheel tight. "Klaus."_

 _She expected Grace to attack her then and there. If the youngest hunter had knowledge on the Originals then she would definitely know of Klaus' reputation. Instead Grace just leaned forwards and braced her elbows on her knees, resting her chin on the palm of her hand, deep in thought._

 _"You're not attempting to kill me?" Hayley wondered, taking her eyes briefly off the road to watch the young Winchester from the mirror. "Why?"_

 _Grace smiled. "Hope said he sacrificed himself to save his family." Hayley nodded, trying to see where this was going but Grace just said, "I can relate to that more than you think."_

 _She glanced towards Dean who Hayley noticed was looking back at her. The two of them held a hint of despair in their eyes. Hayley knew better than to push them for answers._

 _"Take a left here," Dean said quietly and Hayley quickly obliged then slowed to a halt. She noticed a rusting metal sign hanging from above them and although the words were barely legible from age, she could make it out with her perfected vision._

 _'Singer's Salvage Yard.'_

 _"Looks like the twenty questions are gonna have to wait till after this," Dean muttered and Grace nodded. As Hayley turned off the engine, she couldn't help but notice the way the two siblings had stilled in their seats. They looked worried. As if they were scared about meeting whomever was inside this house surrounded by the junkyard of wrecked cars._

 _It was a complete dump, were the first thoughts which came to mind but Hayley decided that it didn't matter. Although the Mikaelsons preferred their houses extravagant and expensive, Hayley had been accustomed to worse in her life._

 _With that in mind, the hybrid got out of the car and rounded to the passenger door where she gently woke up a now shattered Hope. Her daughter took her offered hand and together, mother and daughter followed the two hunters to the front door._

 _Grace exchanged a look with Dean before rapping hard on the door._

 _"Stay behind us and you might want to cover Hope's eyes... possibly ears too," Grace muttered quickly and Hayley turned to her, raising an eyebrow to which she elaborated, "Bobby thinks we're dead so I have no idea how this is gonna go down. Just know that you will probably learn a lot about our lives in the next five minutes."_

 _Hayley was about to open her mouth to ask what the hell the hunter meant by that but at that point the door opened. Hayley hastily did as Grace said and lifted Hope up, turning her daughter's head into her neck. Her gaze then rested on an older man, probably in his late fifties, early sixties, staring at the two Winchester siblings like he had just seen a ghost._

 _A smile simultaneously made its way across Grace and Dean's faces._

 _"Surprise," Dean breathed and Grace took a step forwards with a hand on her hip._

 _"Did you miss us?"_

 _The man's face was pale as he stepped back a step, shaking his head as if trying to rid the vision of the two people standing in front of him. "I don't..." he trailed off, not knowing what to say to express the shock he was feeling._

 _"Yeah, neither do we," Dean replied as he pulled his sister into the house, passing the awestruck man. "But here we are."_

 _"Good as new," Grace added before shrugging. "Not bad considering we recently crawled out of a makeshift grave."_

 _Bobby moved to the side and in a fast movement he leaped at Dean, brandishing a silver dagger. Grace was not surprised. She had been expecting that._

 _"Whoa, Bobby it's us," Dean yelled out as he snatched Bobby's wrist and with a sharp twist, he had the older hunter's arm trapped behind his back._

 _"My ass," Bobby retorted. He threw back a fist, punching Dean square in the face and Grace took that moment of opportunity to snatch the dagger from his hand._

 _"I think that's enough knife brandishing for one day," she muttered before striding up to the man she regarded as a father. "Now watch carefully."_

 _She held out her arm and took in a deep breath before clenching her hand into a fist and sliced the knife across her skin in one fluid motion. Blood welled up from beneath the skin and out of the corner of her eye, she could see Dean watching Hayley intently._

 _The dark-haired hybrid had turned away, her face buried in Hope's hair but other than that she made no move to attack them. Grace smiled when she saw her brother give the mother an approving look. Hayley had passed his test._

 _"See," Grace breathed, scanning Bobby's confused face as she threw the dagger to Dean who did the same thing. "We're not demons."_

 _"You want more proof," Dean stated as he joined his sister's side, advancing on the older hunter. "Your name is Robert Steven Singer, you became a hunter after your wife got possessed and you're the closest thing we have to a father."_

 _Bobby's jaw dropped open. They were getting to him. Hesitantly, Grace stepped forwards and placed a shaking hand on his shoulder. "It's us Bobby, we're here, we're real."_

 _"Just us." Dean finished her sentence from behind her._

 _Bobby stepped forwards and Grace braced herself, prepared in case he decided to attack again but instead she found herself engulfed in a fierce but warm hug. Grace felt her eyes sting as she relaxed for a second before she pulled back to look at him._

 _"Grace?" Bobby asked and at her watery smile, he turned to her brother. "Dean?" It was too surreal. How could this be happening?_

 _Grace stepped back, allowing Dean to hug Bobby._

 _"It's good to see you boy."_

 _"Yeah, you two."_

 _It was when Bobby stepped back that he realised that they weren't alone._ " _Who are they?" he demanded, eyes narrowed on Hope and Hayley._

 _Grace gestured to Hayley to step forwards and she did so, clutching her daughter tight. Hope had now raised her head from her mother's shoulder, staring at Bobby through curious eyes._

 _"Our new lodgers," Dean explained and Bobby lowered his voice so only the green-eyed Winchester could hear. Or that was what he presumed._

 _"Don't presume they are staying, remember whose house this is boy."_

 _Dean grinned and held his hands up in defence. "Don't look at me, look at Grace, she was the one who decided to play hero."_

 _Grace glared at her brother for putting all the blame on her. He had also agreed that letting them tag along was the best thing to._

 _Dean just shot her a wink before adding, "Oh and did I mention, they're supes with the original vampire family lying dormant in the back of the van."_

 _He patted Grace on the shoulder who tried and failed to grab a hold of his arm as he ushered Hayley and Hope out the room. Bracing herself, the youngest Winchester turned back around, prepared to face Bobby Singer's wrath._

 _"What the hell were you thinking, Grace," the hunter finally questioned and Grace flinched at the strictness of his tone._

 _"They're not like that. Supes don't define them, their actions do." Grace sighed and glanced at the door where her brother, Hayley and Hope had disappeared through. "All I see is a desperate mother and her child who want to reunite with their family."_

 _Bobby took off his cap and wiped his forehead. "They're Mikaelsons, Grace!" he exclaimed, his cap falling out of his limp grip onto the floor as he paced._

 _"And Hope is just a child," Grace retorted calmly, not letting the older hunter's words sway her. She had made up her mind and she would stick by that now no matter what. "Her reputation shouldn't be judged based on who her family is."_

 _Bobby opened his mouth but closed it as he heard the woman shout, "Hope," before the little girl came running into view. Hayley was behind her. She turned her daughter to face her and knelt down. "Hope, you know not to interrupt conversations," she scolded, causing the little girl to hang her head._

 _"We're done anyway," Grace responded before turning back to Bobby and gesturing to the two others in the room, "Bobby this is Hayley and this is her daughter, Hope."_

 _Hope pulled away from her mother's grasp and approached the hunter. "Hello," she said shyly, slowly kneeling down to pick up the fallen cap and passing it back to him. "Are you going to help us?"_

 _Grace crossed her arms, smugly leaning against the wall as she watched her guardian's face literally begin to crumble. She knew he saw the same thing in that little girl's eyes that she did._

 _She smirked as she saw Bobby turn away from the kid and mouthing the word 'balls' to himself before turning back._

 _"Yeah," Bobby finally replied, his voice a little gruff and Hope smiled, mumbling a thank you before scanning the house, her blue eyes going round as she finally took in the room._

 _"Are all these books yours?" she exclaimed, her innocent eyes wide and her mouth agape as she spun around, staring dazed at the piles and piles of paperbacks._

 _Bobby smiled, seeming a little puffed up. "If your mom lets you, you can have a look at some if you like," he awkwardly offered causing the young girl to grin widely. When she turned away, Bobby walked up to Grace and whispered, "Fine they can stay but I ain't doing any more favours."_

 _Hayley smiled tightly as his eyes strayed to hers, knowing she was listening and nodded. It wasn't what she wanted but this was the best protection Hope would ever get._

 _She watched as her daughter bounced around the room, reading all the covers and for a moment everything seemed like it would be alright..._

 _"Hayley."_

 _The voice came out of nowhere. Distorted and weak. Hayley span around, trying to find the source but nothing was there. Turning back to the others to ask where it was coming from, she found that they were no longer there._

 _Everything suddenly seemed blurry._

 _"Help me."_

 _Hayley's heart raced at the familiar voice that she hadn't heard in years. "Elijah?" She murmured._

 _Just like that, Bobby Singer's house slowly began to fade away. There was a movement from behind her and this time, she whipped around quick._

 _A startled gasp escaped her lips as she came face to face with Elijah Mikaelson. His handsome face twisted into one of agony as black veins slowly creeped up his skin, sucking up all the moisture from the flesh as it went._

 _"Why couldn't you save us?" Elijah rasped out before slumping to the floor, his oak eyes once full of life, now blank and unseeing. She screamed._

* * *

Hayley Marshall-Kenner jolted out of bed, her heart pounding furiously. Why did her dreams have to be like this? Always starting off with warm memories then ending with her deepest worries seeping back through?

She had been trying so hard for the past five years to reunite Hope with the rest of her family and although she was almost at the finish line, there was still one more bloodline to find: the Malraux.

She had tracked down so many leads but they all ended up false. Which meant there was only one explanation. That she was playing a complex treasure hunt without reaping the final reward.

For five years, she had been tracking the werewolf packs, the first three were admittedly the easiest but they were definitely the hardest on an emotional level. Feeling the pressure residing on her was a lot for a young woman to bear.

Then that pressure all changed on that unforgettable day in September when she ran into two hunters who would lead her and her daughter to the one thing they had craved for so long.

A _family_.

In many ways, Hayley had wondered whether the reason she stayed with them was because in some ways they reminded her of the Mikaelsons. The way Grace, Sam and Dean fought fiercely to protect each other could give the original vampires a run for their money.

The more time she spent with them, the more the pressure on finding the remaining two packs faded because for the first time, she didn't have to do it alone. Once they fully accepted her for who she was, the Winchesters and Bobby were an extra pair of hands to help her when she was struggling.

It allowed her time to be a mother again, to allow her to care for her daughter and it was a safe haven, a place to stay without needing to be constantly on the move.

For the first time in three years, Hayley had seen never seen Hope as happy as she was around the four hunters and although none of them would ever admit it, the two of them had wormed their way into the all their hearts.

Although, Hayley thought as she ran her hand through her knotted brunette hair, she quickly came to realise that the life of a hunter was not all sparkles and rainbows. Many times she had found herself dragged, usually willingly, into the Winchesters' many troubles but somehow they managed to keep Hope safe from it all.

For Hayley, even though it had been one year of absolute bliss, that bliss was never going to last forever.

The hybrid plodded towards the mirror and sighed at the increasing bags forming beneath her eyes.

She had seen Dean, Grace and Sam triumph in battles before and she thought that the siblings would win that one too. She _needed_ them to. For her and for Hope. For the whole world. And they did but it came at such a cost. A cost that no one had seen coming.

Hayley's eyes stung when she remembered the weeks she spent waiting on edge for answers. She couldn't even bring herself to hunt down the werewolf bloodlines.

Hope's powers in those weeks had begun to spin out of control; Hayley had never seen her little girl so emotional. When Hope nearly burned down their home, the two of them had come to the decision that for the time being, she had to keep her bracelet on to mute her magic.

Eventually, one night Dean showed up at their door and Hayley's heart felt even more broken than before. Grace and Sam were as good as dead and they were never coming back. It had hurt so much to think of the agony the two siblings would be enduring and Hayley couldn't even begin to guess how Dean must have been feeling.

As the two of them had sat on that couch, Hayley had showed Dean the gift from Grace and then there came the revelation. The revelation that Hope would be able to get her family back. That Hayley would see Elijah again.

Grace's gift along with Dean's lead on the Blue River pack gave the two of them a new target, a distraction to get them through the day. It was the nights which were the hardest; the deafening silence where they could do nothing but _think_.

Most times, Hayley and Dean made sure that Hope got to sleep safe and sound before the two of them would work until the early morning hours when sleep would finally overtake them. But Dean's lead panned out more successfully than they had hoped and now there was only one pack to go.

This week was Dean's turn to look. The two of them took turns every week so Hope would never remain unguarded. Dean was due back any day now but Hayley knew better than to expect positive news.

Taking one last glance at the mirror and deciding she looked somewhat presentable to start the day, Hayley left her room and strode down the corridor, taking an immediate right and ascending up the spiralling stairs.

The wooden floorboards of the attic echoed the sound of her footsteps as she crossed the room, disregarding the first three coffins as she made her way to the fourth and final one on the left.

Inhaling a deep breath, she crouched down and lifted off the coffin lid with shaking hands.

This was the first time Hayley had laid her eyes on Elijah Mikaelson in two years. She had tried not to, because the sight of them lying there peaceful, like he was sleeping was too painful. He would never wake, not until she succeeded.

The sight of him even now still had the power to take her breath away and she glanced down, her heart pounding rapidly in her chest. She and Hope had been mourning the loss of Sam and Grace for far too long. They even mourned Castiel whom they hadn't seen nor heard of for over a year.

Hayley would now stop at nothing to wake the Mikaelsons now and when all this was done, she was going to make sure they knew how important Dean was to her too. She wasn't going to leave him high and dry after everything he and his family had done for her.

With that, Hayley reluctantly closed the coffin and made her way back downstairs to the first floor. When she was on the landing, she paused, listening hard.

A small smile crossed her face as she picked up on the light scratches of a pencil against paper. Entering Hope's room, Hayley leant against the doorframe, her hands clasped loosely in front of her as she took in the sight of her daughter sitting cross-legged on the bed, head inclined slightly to the left as she drew.

As she scanned the room, multiple pictures scattered the walls, and Hayley never ceased to admire how talented Hope was at art.

 _So much like her father._

She had never paid much attention to each drawing in detail but this time, Hayley found her gaze wandering. Within all the drawings were some which seemed slightly out of place. Still good but not good enough to be Hope's. They didn't have the steady lines, they seemed more unsure.

Hayley furrowed her brows confused, before her eyes strayed towards the bottom of the picture, to where a small curved signature was written in the bottom right hand corner of the paper.

 _G. Winchester. xx_

Tears couldn't help but fill her eyes and she glanced up towards the ceiling, blinking them away furiously. These days it was the little reminders which made her break.

If Dean ever noticed them, she was certain he would to. Afterwards he would be glad that he found something that belonged to his sister but then he would plaster on a smile which would never fully reach his eyes.

A deafening gritty sound of an engine reached her ears and Hope looked up. She glanced towards the window for a second before smiling at her mother. "Is that her?"

"Let me check," Hayley replied softly before commanding, "Stay inside."

Hope bobbed her head and picked up her pencil again to continue drawing. She knew the drill by now.

Before Hayley even had time to leave the room, there was the sound of another engine. She halted in her tracks and Hope's head snapped back up, the pencil falling out of her limp grasp where it rolled off the bed and landed on the floor with a light clatter. Hayley knew why.

That was no ordinary engine; this one compared to the first was smoother and much more powerful. Only one engine could make that sound.

But she still had to make sure.

"Hope. Stay," Hayley reminded her but Hope just leaped to her feet, her drawings completely forgotten.

"But that's the Impala mom! He's back!"

Hayley knew better than to argue with her daughter at this point. She knew her girl would sneak past her either way. Instead she just smiled and Hope took that as an invitation. The auburn haired girl ran after her mum, staying close until they got to the door.

Once Hayley's eyes fell on the two vehicles which couldn't be further away from each other if they tried, a smile spread across her face. She stood back as Hope ran out from behind her, stopping only briefly to give Mary a hug before sprinting towards Dean and leaping into his arms.

Hayley leaned against the wall, shaking her head in humour as she watched the hunter spin her daughter around before setting her back down on the ground.

The two of them then made their way toward her, Dean completely disregarding Mary with nothing more than a stiff nod in greeting. He then passed a parcel to Hope before the two of them disappeared inside the house.

When they had gone, Hayley approached Mary, more concerned matters rising in her mind. "You sure no one followed you?" she reiterated and the elder woman snorted.

"I've been avoiding trouble since well before you were born." She then jerked her head towards the front door. "Maybe you should ask the cold-blooded killer you just allowed inside with your daughter."

Hayley ignored that last jab. It was no secret that Mary hated Dean but she wasn't going to rise to it this time. She needed to remain calm and kind, otherwise the elder woman would turn hightail and drive away.

"You sure you can look after her for a few days?" Hayley asked with a slight pleading edge to her voice. She knew how much Mary cared about Hope but her dislike of the Mikaelson family was unfathomable.

When Mary said nothing, Hayley continued, "Mary _please_. After all this time, I am _this_ close to getting them back. I've already cured Rebekah and Freya with a gift from a friend. There's just one more step to go."

"So you're really gonna do it? Cure 'em and then wake 'em up? Did you ever stop to think, Hope might be better off without 'em?"

Oh Hayley had thought about it. Many, many times. But she needed the Mikaelsons. No matter how good she and Dean had been at protecting Hope, she couldn't ignore the danger which surrounded her daughter.

With Dean's past combined with the fact that her daughter was an infamous Mikaelson, they couldn't do it on their own.

"I made a promise," Hayley whispered.

"To who? To Elijah?" Mary assumed.

Hayley shook her head. "To my _daughter_. I promised her a home where she would feel safe and protected by the people that love her. She had one last year but now that's as good as gone. Mary, she's a Mikaelson, too. She's inherited all of their enemies and a power that I don't understand. She needs someone to teach her to control it. Dean and I are closing in on the Malraux, I can feel it."

"I don't trust him," Mary stated coldly, turning back around to glare at the house and Hayley paused. "No more than I trust those you are trying to wake."

"Well, he's not exactly a fan of yours either." Now _that_ was an _understatement_. Hayley seemed to recall Dean saying that the woman had a stick rammed so far up her own arse that the end was breaking under the pressure. Not that Hayley could blame him. Dean had a right to dislike her.

The first time the two of them had met, Mary had jumped to conclusions and judged Dean instantly from the many tales of the Winchester family. It became obvious that she would never trust a hunter. No matter how noble some of them might be.

The breaking point had been when Mary had muttered that it was good that both Grace and Sam were dead. Two less dangers on the planet. Dean was so close to killing her where she had stood and Hayley had not been far behind.

If Hope hadn't been in the same room, Hayley may not have held him back.

"Dean has been through hell," Hayley replied with a slow cautious tone, choosing her words carefully but intent on getting her point across. "He's mine and Hope's family too. If you have a problem with it fine, but he's not going anywhere."

She finished her small declaration with hard breaths and eyes of steel. Mary looked away and an uncomfortable silence passed between the hybrid and her former grandmother in law.

"I'll look after her," Mary finally conceded and Hayley let out a sigh of relief.

"That's all I ask."

She turned away and re-entered the house, ensuring to leave the door open in case Mary decided to come in. Walking through the house, she came to a stop at the entrance to the dining room and the sight that met her made her groan with exasperation. "She has _enough_ crayons, Dean."

Hope giggled as she examined them all in turn and Dean patted the girl lightly on the shoulder before getting out of his chair and turned to Hayley, raising his hands defensively. "Hey, she is a seven year old kid. She can never have too many crayons. Better than dolls." he shuddered. " _Man_ those things are creepy, 'specially when they try to kill you."

"Killer _dolls?_ " Hayley questioned and Dean shrugged, approaching her and lowered his voice, ensuring that Hope couldn't hear, not that it would matter. The little girl was too engrossed in her new present.

"Usually some pissed off spirit possessing them," Dean elaborated. Hayley began to think. His tone was strangely cheerful. Almost chipper. Dean Winchester was never chipper unless he had accomplished something.

"You're back strangely early," Hayley started slowly.

"You bet." He crossed back across the room to the table, moved some of Hope's crayons out the way before reaching out into his jacket pocket and pulled out a slip of paper, slapping it onto the wood. "Keelin Moses."

Hayley stared down at the picture of a woman with short curly black hair. Athletic build, pretty but other than that there seemed nothing special about her. Hayley looked back up at Dean. "I don't get it."

Dean snorted, "Yeah you wouldn't but I've been doin' some digging. Chick's from Austin Texas, medical student, just graduated and bagged herself a job at the ER. Quite the normal background until you trace her ancestry and I'll give you three guesses what one of the surnames is."

Hayley's heart leaped.

Dean looked smug as she snatched up the paper and scanned the information the hunter had retrieved. "Not bad in five days of work. Ganked a spirit who was obsessed with killing her ex and his entire family at the same time."

Hayley looked up from the paper in bewilderment. "You went on a _hunt_ too? And managed to do _both?_ "

"Yeah. I'm awesome," Dean replied, throwing himself back onto the chair and flung his legs onto the table, crossing them. "Hey, Hope, who's the awesomest person you know?"

Hope glanced up from her crayons beaming, "You are!" she exclaimed, pointing her finger towards him and Dean nodded, his head held high.

"And don't you forget it, kid."

Hayley's smile at the two of them then faded as quickly as it came. Her eyes glazed over as she looked down at the paper in her limp grasp. "It could be a false lead," she murmured.

"Maybe," Dean replied softly. "But it's the best we got. And this time I used Sa-my brother's researching technique. He was always good at picking up on stuff my sister and I couldn't. Not to mention he was a nerd so he wrote all his tips down."

He fell silent after that, the glimpse of happiness once again gone. Clearing his throat, he closed his eyes and cleared his expression to a blank mask. The mask Hayley realised he always put up when he was close to tears.

But Hayley had to admit, he was right. This was the best shot they had and if it was Sam's technique that Dean had chosen, she owed it to the youngest Winchester brother to give it a try. "Okay, let's go."

Do you _have_ to go?" Hope had finally tuned into the conversation, quickly picking up the gist as she turned to Dean and widened her eyes.

Dean just smiled sadly. His brother had taught her to perfect the puppy dog look. It worked every time but this time he couldn't cave. They were doing this for her. He was going to fulfil what his siblings couldn't be there to see.

"Yeah kid, we do," he replied hoarsely before quickly leaving the room. Hayley stared after him, praying that he was okay.

"We'll be back very, very soon. And we won't be alone. I'll call you every night before bed, okay? In the meantime, you listen to Mary. Deal?"

She kissed two of her fingers and held them out. Hope smiled and repeated the gesture. "Deal."

Their fingertips touched before Hayley pulled her daughter into a tight hug. Then leaving Hope with Mary, she stepped outside, the cool breeze wafting around her face.

A second later Dean fell into step beside her. "Alright, got the keys," he announced. "Let's hit the road."

Hayley stopped in her tracks and turned to him, her expression completely serious so he knew she was not messing around. "We're not taking the Impala, Dean."

She gestured towards the van and the truck pulling it causing Dean to shake his head in denial, "Aww, hell no."

"Do you really want to risk the car getting destroyed?"

"I rebuilt her, baby's flawless." Dean boasted as he ran his fingers over the Impala tenderly causing Hayley to shake her head in exasperation. "She's strong enough to stand anything that comes our way."

Just an everyday man boasting about his vehicle but Hayley knew what buttons to press. She knew exactly how Dean reacted if his precious Impala got so much as a scratch on it.

"Do you really want to take that chance?" she implored before exaggerating her next sentence. "We could be walking into a war zone against the rest of my family. _Baby_ might not make it out."

"Fine," Dean grumbled, pocketing his keys and casting one last longing glance towards his the impala before he strode towards the other vehicle. "I'll get in the damn truck but in the future, nobody puts baby in a corner."

* * *

 _"HAYLEY! GET HOPE TO BOBBY NOW!" Grace's stricken voice rang through the house._

 _Hope looked up from where she was reading one of Bobby's books on witches. She had wanted to see if there was a way to control her powers and so far she had found a few tips but nothing major._

 _Hayley, who had been sitting beside her daughter watching on fondly, immediately picked up on the urgency in Grace's tone. Swooping Hope into her arms, she took off in a rush of air, locating Bobby in a second._

 _"What's happening," Hayley demanded as she passed Hope over._

 _Bobby just looked outside nervously before back at Hope. "Somethin' has got past the wards," he muttered, not elaborating any further but Hayley didn't need him to. He wasn't going to say anything further in front of Hope. "There's a bunker downstairs, built it on a weekend off. Not even an angel can get past that."_

 _"Take her there now," Hayley commanded before disappearing in a rush of air, quickly reaching the backyard. Her gold eyes immediately fell on Grace who was knelt on the floor, palms pressed flat over her ears._

 _Sensing the faint waft of blood in the air, Hayley was beside her in a second._

 _"Let me heal you," she implored but Grace rejected her adamantly._

 _"No, they'll just bleed again!" Shaking her head quickly to remain focused, the younger Winchester reached out for the shotgun which was lying a few feet from her. "We need to hold it off," Grace grunted as Hayley helped her to stand. "Long enough for my brothers to find what we need."_

 _"Hold what off?" Hayley demanded but she got her answer a moment later as a high pitched scream pierced through the air._

 _The vocal wave blasted the two women off their feet before they landed with a crash on the tarmac ground. A small crack sounded through Hayley's ears as she felt her pinkie snap._

 _The scream then began to increase to a pitch higher than Hayley ever thought possible, higher than the noise from Castiel at the gas station. It rang through her ears and she yelled out loud, covering her ears as hard as she could. Her eardrums were beginning to rip themselves apart from the inside out. A sticky substance oozed out of her canal and she didn't have to check to know it was blood._

 _Blinking away tears of agony, Hayley turned to find Grace leaping to her feet. The female Winchester was standing tall; blood streaming down from her ears as she quickly aimed her gun at a floating hooded figure which had appeared before them and pulled the trigger._

 _The shot rang out through the air but the figure had moved too fast. The bullet ricocheted off a car window, causing the glass to shatter from the force and the screams faded._

 _"What the hell was that?" Hayley rasped, scrambling to her feet. Her ears and finger were already healing as her eyes flashed yellow. She looked around for any sign of disturbance._

 _"Fucking Banshee," Grace replied through gritted teeth, smoky blue eyes darting around the junkyard. "Be ready, it will be back."_

 _For a second Hayley stopped to wonder how Grace had fought through the second vocal wave. Hayley was a hybrid and the pain had been so bad that she couldn't even bring herself to attempt to hold it off._

 _But then Hayley remembered what Grace had been through. Forty years of torture in hell. Her pain threshold must have strengthened. A strange pang in her chest made Hayley come to realise how strong willed Grace Winchester truly was._

 _A flash of movement caught her eye and this time Hayley was prepared. She leaped over one of the car hoods, crashing into the figure and knocking it to the ground. She held on tight, ceasing the creature's struggles but the screams began again and she was forced back._

 _Hayley groaned as she hit the floor for a second time. Grace was instantly beside her and with a quick bang, she shot the banshee through the throat with quick precision._

 _"My brothers better hurry the hell up," Grace growled as she pulled Hayley to her feet. "Bitch is gonna heal in thirty seconds max."_

 _Hayley snarled in response, but her worry was increasing for Grace who was getting paler by the second. As soon as they had killed this thing, Grace was getting her blood, no arguments._

 _She didn't even stop to wonder where this new found care had come from but somewhere along the way she had started to trust the Winchesters. They had kept to their word and kept both her and Hope safe._

 _It was about time she proved her gratitude._

 _When the Banshee started to twitch again, Hayley caught the sound of rapid footsteps. Sam suddenly appeared at the front door and stumbled towards them, his muscles straining from holding the large object in his hands,_

 _"Bobby found it, Dean's right behind me," he said to Grace, placing the black metal object on the ground._

 _"Shit," Hayley muttered as the Banshee rose slowly to its feet. This time it didn't scream, just walked slowly towards them, footsteps disjointed. Hayley didn't want to find out why it was doing that._

 _"Grace!"_

 _The three of then turned around and Grace ran forwards as Dean chucked the antique phone towards her. "Hayley!" she yelled._

 _"Already on it!" Hayley called back before she sped towards the Banshee again. She forced the creature to the ground. While it was distracted, Grace skidded to her knees beside the black box and connected the phone. Sam turned up the dial and a mirrored pitched scream belted through the air._

 _The Banshee abruptly began to twitch and Hayley backed rapidly away. She watched as the creature threw back its head; the hood falling away from its face and revealing a beautiful white skinned woman with long snowy hair. Blood trickled down from her ears as she let out one final scream before exploding into nothingness._

 _Hayley exhaled a long breath of relief and suddenly felt a hand on her shoulder. Craning her head up, she met the approving eyes of Sam Winchester. "Not bad," he appraised. "You did good."_

 _Hayley nodded, trying to calm her pounding heart but there was still one question on her mind. "How?"_

 _"Well, Bobby had a recording on his phone of a Banshee scream," Sam explained as Dean tossed the phone in the air before catching it victoriously. "You see, that's why Banshees live alone because only the scream of their own kind can kill it."_

 _Hayley nodded before realising Grace still needed help and approached her side. Fangs elongating, Hayley slit open her wrist and held it out. "Drink now," she said but Grace shook her head._

 _"I'm fine, don't worry," she responded but everyone could see she was quivering slightly. Hayley knew it wasn't because of the adrenaline. She had started to realise that Grace barely accepted help, even if she was in dire need of it._

 _Casting a despairing glance to Dean, he wrapped his arm around his sister's waist, holding her upright as she swayed dangerously. Sam stood by her other side, watching his sister worriedly._

 _"Gracie, do as she says or I swear to God I will make her force it down your throat," Dean commanded and Grace reluctantly took Hayley's wrist in her hands and brought it up to her lips. As soon as the coppery taste hit her taste buds she swallowed and pulled back, feeling her skin already starting to knit itself back together._

 _"What happens now?" she questioned and Hayley grinned wryly._

 _"Stay alive for the next twenty four hours. I know it will be hard but..."_

 _She trailed off, leaving the sentence hanging and Grace laughed, "I think I can manage that. I'm a Winchester."_

 _Dean nudged her shoulder playfully. "That you are. And we Winchesters are invincible."_

 _Grace grinned at her brothers and Hayley stared at the three siblings with a soft expression. She didn't realise how strong their bond was until now but once she saw it, she knew it was something she would never be able to unsee ever again._

 _Pulling away from her brothers' arms Grace looked at Hayley. "Thank you."_

 _"No problem, really," Hayley responded before pausing, confused. "It was kind of exhilarating," she admitted, causing both Sam and Grace to grin widely._

 _"You're tellin' me," Dean responded before smirking. "I do love a screaming woman."_

* * *

"Hayley, we're here."

Hayley smiled serenely as her dark eyes fluttered open. Recalling memories which seemed so long ago. It sent a pang through her chest and she raised her hand, her fingers trailing over the spot as if she hoped the touch would somehow ease the pain.

But it was still there, even on the days when she felt like she couldn't feel it.

After five years, the agony still clung on to her like a leech, sucking away all her hope and happiness. First it was Klaus, Elijah and the rest of the Mikaelsons. Then it was Grace and Sam.

No matter how hard she tried to deny it, death was unavoidable. It kept on happening, going round and round like an endless circle of tragedy and grief. Never breaking and inescapable. Hayley was terrified the same thing would happen to Hope and Dean.

Because the truth of the matter hurt more than anything. Not even the most powerful of beasts were indestructible.

That's why this had to be real. Something _had_ to go their way for _once_. At some point, something had to change and as Hayley looked in the side-view mirror, a smile making its way across her lips as she saw the van attached to the back of the truck, she truly hoped that it would be today.

When she forced herself back to the present, all melancholy thoughts were cut off by the screeching which pierced through her ears. Before she could even subconsciously think about it, her hands reached her ears and pressed down to block out the voices which sounded like nails scratching down a blackboard.

Peering over at Dean, irritation slowly grated at her nerves as the hunter bobbed his head serenely, his mouth parted as he mimicked the sound.

"You're kidding right? AC/DC? You don't have anything, less, screamy?" Hayley stated through multiple winces but Dean just reached forwards and turned the dial up. Snarling slightly, she reached her hand out and slapped his away, forcing the volume down to inexistent before pulling the damn thing out.

Dean stared at her, blinking almost owlishly as she flicked the dial out of the ajar truck window where it landed with a clatter against the stone floor, the sound echoing around them, reverberating off the enclosed walls. "Well that's just cheating."

"When you choose some less crappy music, we'll talk," Hayley responded and Dean just shook his head in denial, eyes narrowed into slits.

"You gotta know the age old rule by now. Driver picks the music, shotgun shuts her cakehole..." he trailed off then suddenly stopped talking. Blinking hard, the hunter looked quickly away. Hayley didn't know why but she had a vague idea and knew better than to ask.

Changing the subject rapidly, her mind flashed back to her dream as Dean kicked the engine, letting the rumblings fade into silence. "Look how far we've come," she said softly before shaking her head. "We used to hate each other."

"Oh I still do, I just hide it well," Dean responded back, his fingers tapping the wheel impatiently as he stared out the car window but Hayley didn't believe him for a second. Not when a faint twitch appeared at the edges of the hunter's lips. That was the closest she ever got to a smile from him in the past year.

How they had got to this point was almost surreal. For a long time, Hayley and Dean held a mutual dislike for each other, from the moment Grace decided to protect Hayley and Hope.

When Dean had first read up on the Mikaelson family, he had shunned everyone for a week, spending most of his time rebuilding the Impala whilst throwing scathing looks at the female hybrid whenever the two of them crossed paths.

It was the Banshee incident that caused Hayley to finally earn his respect. For helping Grace out when he and Sam couldn't. Coincidently, that was also the turning point for Hayley. The point when she realised that Hope had been right all along.

Yes, the Winchesters had earned themselves a name in the supernatural community but in the end, everything they had done had been in the name of family. As time passed, respect had turned into trust, trust had turned into family and it was one that Hayley would protect just as fiercely as she protected the Mikaelsons.

Glancing out the window, Hayley's smile faded to one of confusion as she took in the surroundings. They were in a parking lot, that much was certain but surrounding them was nothing but high rising buildings; buildings with bricks which were crumbling, small cracked rectangular glass panes which shed no light from the interior.

The air had an icy chill as it forced its way through the ajar car window and Hayley couldn't help but shudder. The place was dark and empty.

"Where are we?" she asked.

"Warehouse," Dean replied. "Just a few blocks from our target." He paused then turned to her amused, his frame relaxed languidly against the leather of the seat. "Good place to rehash night of the living dead don't you think?"

"Don't be an ass. Remember they're Hope's family," Hayley scolded him but it was half-hearted. She knew better by now that Dean was very open about his opinions and nothing anyone said would ever sway him.

"Yeah yeah and I'm sure they'll wake up with sunshine and rainbows sprinklin' out their asses," Dean muttered, and if Hayley was giving any indication as to hearing it, she didn't let it show. But the dark-haired Winchester didn't care if his tone sounded in any way scathing as he holstered the gun.

He had a job to do. A job that was finally coming to an end and he had to admit, he was reluctant to do it.

Because Dean was no fool. Once Hayley had the originals back, they would no longer give two craps about him.

Hope would have her father. Hayley would have her lover. He knew how the story went.

In the beginning, Hayley sure would try but Dean's sullen mood would put a damper on their happiness. Over time, his jealousy would increase; seeing the one thing he could never have again. The love of family. Over time their bond would fade and once again, he would be left with nothing.

When this reunion was all over, maybe it would be best to get the hell out of dodge. Ain't no point sticking around, waiting for more heartbreak.

Decision made, Dean lifted up the compartment and rummaged through the multiple ID's before he rested on FBI. For a brief second he let his fingertips trail over the card before swiping it up and grasping the door handle. It was time to get this all over with.

"Bar's round the corner, give me five minutes and I'll have her outside."

"What are you gonna do, burst in and threaten her?" Hayley blurted and Dean's mouth twitched slightly, once again just short of a smile as he opened the door and made a move to get out.

"Sounds about right."

"You're worried," Hayley said, her voice almost short of a whisper as she read his face and Dean paused, his fingers against the handle slackening as he let out a deep sigh.

"Look Hayley, I couldn't help but keep thinkin' on the way down. We've been down this road for two years and found nothing. Jack squat. Now this lead comes out of the blue." Dean had to think about this with a rational head.

Yes he may have used his brother's research technique but all of them had been helping with the search for a year before... the more Dean thought about it, the more it couldn't be a coincidence that he had come across this information by a stroke of luck.

Hayley's face paled at the information before her eyes flashed gold. The gesture didn't even affect Dean in the slightest any more, in fact it gave him some solace of comfort, that if this all went to shit, he had someone who would have his back when he fell on his ass. And he would fall on his ass. Alone, this stuff would be well above his pay grade.

Green eyes hardening into ice rocks of determination, Dean's knuckles turned white. His grasp around the badge tightened as he got out the car and closed the door with a loud slam. He strode down through a narrow alleyway and turned left onto a sidewalk. His footsteps were lithe and perfectly silent, kudos to his hunter status.

Adjusting his tie slightly and buttoning up the suit he had picked up from a small village during a pit stop on the way down to their destination, Dean turned one last corner and came to a halt.

The bar stood before him, hard not to miss with the blue and white neon signs almost burning a hole through his retinas. Hearing high pitched laughter coming from inside, Dean's mood became foul as he approached.

True to his suspicions, inside the place was swarming with chicks. Drunk and desperate chicks during the only time he couldn't afford to get laid. He made a mental note to come back once all this was said and done.

Entering the bar, he quickly began to scan the room, forcing his attention away from the leggy blonde waitress who sent him a sultry wink before he caved in to temptation and allowed his gaze to linger. Keelin was around somewhere. It was the last known place she had used her credit card in the past hour.

Sure enough, in the corner of the room, a group of women sat around a table, cheering as one of their posy downed a shot. A woman with familiar curly black hair. It was her.

Dean edged towards the group; the crowds of women breaking apart, staring at him curiously as he walked with a purpose towards the table. When he was close enough to hear, he slowed down, waiting for an opportune moment.

"All right, ladies, do not slow down on me. Cheers," the curly haired woman said, slamming her glass down on the table. She made a move to stand and that was when he decided to intervene.

"Keelin Moses?" He cleared his throat, his tone the sound of perfect authority he had perfected through the years gone by. He kept his gaze fixed on the woman, trying not to be swayed by the batting eyelashes of her friends whom on a different occasion would have succeeded in makin' his jeans uncomfortably tight.

The woman, mid laughter turned to look at him but her smile instantly faltered when she saw the coldness in his eyes.

"Can I help you?" she asked, feeling wariness begin to envelop her entire being. Something about this man had her on edge, a voice inside telling her to be afraid. Although she had supressed her wolf instincts, she knew better than to ignore them when they were screaming that this person was dangerous.

Dean nodded shortly and swiped out his badge causing everyone in the group to pale. "Malcolm Young. FBI. Would you mind stepping outside to answer a few questions? We need to talk privately."

* * *

Dean led Keelin outside. He didn't need to double check to know that she was following him. With his identity her being the good little civilian, she would come without any hesitation. Once he had her in a narrow street behind the bar, away from any drunk partygoers, he came to a halt and spun on his heel to face her.

Keelin quickly stopped in her tracks to avoid bumping into him and Dean inwardly congratulated himself when he saw that he had the woman completely fooled; from the frown on her lips, to the faint trembling in her hands, to the beads of sweat rapidly appearing on her forehead.

"What is this about? I've done nothing wrong," Keelin stuttered out when she couldn't take the silence any longer. "You have the wrong person."

"Oh I don't think I do," Dean replied tonelessly, and crossed his arms, his face still a blank mask, not reacting to her insistence.

From the inside pocket of his suit came a short vibrating sound and he knew that Hayley was waiting in the shadows. Time to put this show on the road.

"Keelin Moses. 24. Graduated Medical Student. Probably to compensate for all that guilt you feel from killing that poor girl which caused you to change your shampoo to flea treatment."

Keelin paled, absorbing his words and Dean was itching to go for his gun. That was more than a confirmation in his books.

The sound of footsteps against cobblestone caused the hunter to smile as he felt Hayley come to a stop by his side. Keelin's fear turned quickly into defence as she narrowed her eyes. A twitch in her fingers did not escape Dean's notice.

Despite that courage, the wolf was still afraid. Afraid that they knew her secret. Unfortunately for her, they did

"What is this?" Keelin said, her voice no higher than a whisper.

"Look Keelin I need a favour. Five minutes of your time, that is all," Hayley responded through forced calm and Keelin stared at her before turning to Dean, silently demanding an explanation which he was more than happy to give to her.

"My friend here is with Animal Control," the hunter said with a tight lipped smile which caused Hayley to sigh.

Normally she would have felt comforted at Dean's attempt to derive humour from the situation but she didn't have time for this and she took a threatening step forwards, barging past the hunter as she stared at Keelin Moses straight on.

"Look, are you or are you not part of the Malraux bloodline?" Hayley stated, cutting straight to the chase, demanding an answer from the woman as she scanned her over, checking for any tell that would give her away.

Keelin just stood there, frozen, her eyes darting from the two strangers to her surroundings, finding anything that could possibly help her escape the situation. It was no use trying, deep down she knew that. They had her well and truly cornered. If she had even the slightest chance of getting out of this, she was going to have to fight.

"You're not FBI are you?" Keelin guessed, stalling for time as her brain whirred. She only just managed to subtly tense the muscles in her thighs so she was poised and ready to spring as she looked between the two of them.

Her response caused Hayley's dark eyes to glitter gold, allowing her hybrid visage to seep through and Dean flashed a million dollar smile, showing his full white set of teeth.

"Afraid not sweetheart."

* * *

From across the road, a lone man stood listening in on the conversation intently. Alistair was right. Hayley would come for the wolf but there was something off with the male companion, something which filled him with trepidation. It was quickly forced down as he picked up the only thing that mattered. The FBI was just a fraud human. Simple and plain.

Not a threat.

His thumbs zoomed quickly across the phone, typing out a quick message.

 _Found the girl. And Hayley Marshall with an accomplice._

Alistair had told him to gather info, to wait and observe but this was the dire circumstance they had all been dreading and he already knew what the reply from his friend would be. No one wanted the Mikaelson family to wake.

Not a split second later, his phone hummed quietly and the man sneered victoriously at the response.

 _Kill them all._

It was time to gather up the others. By the end of tonight, the wolf, the human happy meal and the hybrid would be nothing more than ashes in the wind.

* * *

And Season 4 begins. Let me know what you think.

 ** _Reviews:_** _  
Guest 1: Hope you liked this update_  
 _Guest 2: Hope you liked it :) Grace and Klaus will meet quite soon._  
 _Guest 3: Hope you liked the update._  
 _Angelic Lady: I'm glad you like it, the next chapter is halfway done so it should be up sooner than this one :D_  
 _Guest 4: I updated :) It's such a fun one to write._  
 _Dark-Supernatural-Angel: Aww, it means a lot - Thank you! :D_  
 _lilnightmare17: I'm glad I did it justice! _  
_ItzIzzieMonsta: Haha sorry for making you wait! A lot will be going down next chapter so I will try not to make you wait as long :D_


	7. A Race to Cure

_The next chapter is finally here! So this ended up being 19,000 words which was too long so I split it in two. But that means the next update should be out much sooner than last time :D Enjoy and as always, let me know what you think._

* * *

Dean saw the attack coming from a mile away. Keelin may have been subtle in her movements but he had been playing this game for a very long time. He knew what gestures to look for. From the slight twitch of a finger to the subtle protrusion of a tendon. This woman was no different from any of the others he had faced during his life as a hunter.

Her body was leaning ever so cautiously to the left, the ball of her left foot somewhat raised as she transferred the faintest amount of pressure from her heels to her toes. She was going for the direct approach. Spring, attack and escape.

Just before she could get a hit in on Hayley, Dean had swiftly whipped out his gun and poised it perfectly at her temple. Not even so much as a tremor in his hands as he held the weapon firmly in his grip. It was to be expected from an experienced killer.

No matter how many times Dean had wanted to deny it in his youth, it was the justified truth which had saved his neck on so many occasions.

The sound of the click as he removed the safety caused Keelin to slowly turn round. "You do know I will heal right?" she enquired with an arched eyebrow, seemingly undeterred.

Dean just smirked at her and there was something about that look which sent a jolt of uneasiness down her spine. "This little baby here is laced with wolfsbane," he commented making sure that Keelin was hanging onto his every word, his grin widening at the sudden pale tinge to the woman's skin.

The fear was finally starting to settle in and he could tell she was finally realising the severity of the situation.

Shrugging, he pressed the gun hard against her temple, ignoring her slight wince. "Yeah I guess you will heal eventually but in the mean time I bet it will sting like a bitch."

Although Keelin's form was frozen, the hunter noticed the way her dark orbs were blazing. "I won't go down without a fight," she spat out, her gaze still flitting in the direction of her only escape route which was blocked by him and Hayley.

Dean couldn't help but admire her gall to not back down. He was grudgingly impressed. Keelin was clearly outnumbered but her resolution was still strong. The instinct to survive was an incredible thing.

"Would you _relax_ , we're not here to fight you," Hayley hissed yet Dean just scoffed.

"Speak for yourself," he muttered. Despite his reluctant respect, he remembered all too well just how compliant the last one had been. It had reminded the green eyed hunter of the monsters he used to hunt.

Maybe he now understood that the world was no longer black and white but the last one had to be put down after the venom extraction. Not even Hayley could find it within herself to complain.

"We need you. You're the last of your pack. That makes you special for reasons that are too complicated to explain," Hayley began but was quickly interrupted.

"I don't care about your problems," Keelin stated but stumbled back when Dean pressed her harder against the wall. They were on the clock and he had just about had enough of her shit.

"Well we're not giving you a choice," he said harshly and watched the wolf even more intently as he identified the faint flicker of gold beneath the surface of her brown irises.

"Do you have any idea how stupid you are to threaten a wolf?" she hissed and Dean couldn't even hold in the urge to laugh. She really had no clue. He had way surpassed the stupidity threshold a long time ago.

At the startled look on the wolf's face, Dean shrugged, amused as he replied, "I have a pretty good idea."

"Believe it or don't but coming with us might guarantee your survival," Hayley started again slowly as if talking to a small child but if anything, it set Dean more on edge.

They didn't have time for this chit chat. Something didn't sit right with him and maybe it was simply paranoia but the hunter was not going to stand by and wait to find out.

"There are others out there who know how important you are. And they will come for you," Hayley stated.

Keelin didn't answer but there was a sagging of her shoulders and against his best instincts, Dean reluctantly lowered the gun. "Like it or not, we're the best chance you have," he finished off, leaving no tone for argument.

"Look," Keelin began with a deep sigh. "I have a life, a career, relationships. Someone tries to take that, they're gonna have to kill me."

Impatience was eating at Dean's core. This was getting them nowhere. "That's sweet, really, gets me right here," he drawled sarcastically, his voice ice cold as he placed one hand against his heart for emphasis. "But time's tickin' sweetheart and you won't survive this alone."

"Will you come with us?" Hayley asked and Keelin paused, her eyes darting to Dean once more before closing them slowly and opening her mouth. The hunter and the hybrid waited with bated breath for her impending answer. They would prefer not to bring her by force but they would if they had to.

The moment of Keelin's indecision was abruptly broken off by the faint sound of shouts and gasps. Hayley's hybrid senses pricked up and she focused in on the sudden commotion.

"Where is she?" The unfamiliar voice was distinct as it drifted towards them from the bar. It was followed by a loud crash which the three of them heard clearly. They froze.

"Son of a bitch," Dean groaned, his dreaded suspicions confirmed. With a sharp flick of his wrist, he struck the pressure point at the base of Keelin's neck, watching impassively as she slumped to the floor; her eyelids fluttering closed as she sank into the hold of unconsciousness.

"You were right all along, we're being tracked," Hayley muttered, crouching down to throw the unconscious wolf over her shoulder, all the while voicing the thoughts which Dean already had whirling around in his head. As soon as Hayley was on her feet, the hunter stepped forwards, his hand closing around hers.

"Let's get the hell outta here," he stated and the response he got was the tightening of her small hand in his before his world turned into a rush of colour, the wind roaring in his face.

By the time Alistair's vampires entered the street, they found it empty. Nothing but the distinct stench of wolf and human.

A man stepped forwards and inhaled deeply. His eyes snapped open to reveal a pitch black. The cold colour of death and destruction. Thin veins bulged out from under his eyes, creeping down to his cheeks. They were closing in.

"Find them," he hissed and the vampires, like obedient little dogs, scattered off into the night.

Death was coming and this time, not even Hayley Marshall-Kenner would be able to stop it.

* * *

The first thing Keelin felt when she finally drifted back into consciousness was pain.

During her many years of training to become a doctor, she figured out how to classify the many varieties of discomfort. It wasn't the burning piercing type which caused her insides to set on fire with an inescapable agony, painful enough to be life threatening. Nor was it a light sting which she could lightly brush off.

This pain was a dull throbbing ache which caused her muscles to spasm and her head to spin.

Whatever the green eyed male had done to knock her out of consciousness, he must have known that she wouldn't be out for long. Minutes must have passed in her state of unconsciousness. Five at the most.

After that deduction, Keelin just lay there, listening, trying to figure out the best way to get out of whatever screwed up situation she had got herself caught up in. For a moment it was silent until the wolf heard it.

 _Footsteps_.

The sound echoed around the room as they got steadily louder until they came to a prompt stop. Her breath caught. One of her kidnappers was currently standing right in front of her.

"You do know that I know you're awake right? I could hear your heartbeat from a mile away." That was the voice of the hybrid which meant the fake FBI agent must be around here somewhere too.

And then sure enough, true to her suspicions, came the gruff voice of the male, "She's quite good at that. So stop messing us around." There was a silence as he waited for Keelin to move but when nothing happened he continued with a tinge of irritation, "You're not gonna go anywhere unless you decide to cooperate."

Did that mean they intended on letting her leave? She couldn't bring herself to believe them. If she did, then she was profoundly stupid. They had the upper hand and Keelin wasn't about to fall for their false promises. Nevertheless the game was up. She couldn't pretend any longer.

Allowing her eyelids to flutter open, she blinked rapidly as black spots danced in front of her eyes and obscured her vision. A wave of sickness flooded through her body as she braced her palms against the cold stone floor, applying enough pressure to force her body up into a sitting position.

A short swallow prevented the wretched taste of bile from rising up from her gullet to her mouth and groaning, she lifted up a hand and pressed it against the skin at the base of her neck. Her fingertips gently rubbed at the general area to try and relax her sore muscles.

This must have been the first time in which Keelin Moses actually regretted her decision to suppress her werewolf abilities.

Once she felt somewhat capable of moving, Keelin began to focus on her surroundings but once she did she wished she hadn't. Her kidnappers seemed to have brought her to some kind of abandoned warehouse; the air of which gave off the feeling of an icy coldness. It was apparent that the place hadn't been lived in for a long time.

If she was killed tonight, the curly haired woman knew that it would take days - possibly even _weeks_ until someone discovered her body.

A shiver shot down her spine and her wild tresses stood on end as she focused on the four wooden boxes placed in the centre of the room. There was a sense of foreboding which engulfed her as she stared unseeingly at the objects. Calling the boxes objects was putting it mildly but it was more preferable than the more gruesome reality.

What kind of messed up shit had she gotten herself into? Because the only logical conclusion Keelin could come to was that one of those coffins was meant for _her_.

The curly haired woman suddenly found it hard to breathe, her heart pounding to an unfamiliar frantic beat as sweat beaded through the glands of her forehead. She wanted to throw up. She wanted to fight, to escape, to _run_. Anything to quell the sheer blind panic which was coursing through her body like a thousand electric shocks.

Hayley stared at the wolf before her impassively. She could hear the rapid pounding of Keelin's heart, the beat too fast for any human and catching the horrified look being sent at her, dark eyes rolled.

"For god's sake will you _relax_ , we're not your enemy," she reiterated although she felt this was getting monotonous quick. "If we left you where you were, you'd be dead already."

"That was an option," came Dean's deeper tone and Keelin snapped her head to the left, only just realising that he was in the room, leaning against a large pickup truck. His arms were folded as he contemplated her through piercing forest eyes which sent a shiver down her spine. Because those eyes were cold, calculating. "Fortunately for you, I lost."

Keelin opened her mouth to send back a sharp retort but he had already turned his back on her. Utterly dismissing her. With a sharp flick of his hand, the truck lights flashed. Setting the keys blindly aside, he reached out and pulled down the tailgate.

Curiosity for a moment getting the best of her, Keelin craned her head and peered over. The first thing her eyes were drawn to was the strange symbol which tattooed the metal in white paint and if her identification was correct, it formed the shape of a pentagram. But as she allowed her gaze to wander, her curious nature was once again replaced with dread.

For there was a secret compartment beneath the truck bed, a compartment filled with firearms. It sported everything from guns, to knives, to crossbows, to scythes and various other weapons which Keelin couldn't even begin to put a name to.

Reality struck her then and there. Weapons of that multitude needed a handler who was equipped with enough experience if he was to ever stand a chance against killing a supernatural. This man was therefore no ordinary human. He was a _hunter._

Dean could feel the wolf's stare on him and it was slowly beginning to grate on his nerves. Focusing on the task at hand, his movements were automatic as he started to gather what he needed. If these vamps were in any way smart, they would have started to hunt them down and when they finally did, that smartness would become stupidity.

Because the leeches had underestimated one fatal flaw in their plan of annihilation... _him_.

Smirking at the thought, Dean unscrewed the bottle of vervain and began lacing the wooden bullets with the poisonous substance before reloading the handgun. The vampires would be cocky but so was he. And Dean Winchester was never one to ever miss a shot.

Annoyance began to itch at his flesh when his silent concentration was broken by the wolf. "What are you doing?" she asked.

He was beginning to wish he had knocked her out longer. "To be honest sweetheart, resisting the urge to gank you," he muttered under his breath and rolled his eyes at the wolf's subtle flinch when he turned the safety off. Although, he couldn't resist the urge to brag.

Twirling the weapon round once in his hand he stated proudly, "This baby will put down any son of a bitch stupid enough to follow us."

"So let me guess, we're on the run from vampires?" Keelin questioned, looking from him to Hayley, silently demanding answers.

"What gave it away, the vervain or the wooden bullets?" Dean drawled back, his voice flooded with sarcasm and Keelin let out a low snarl.

Resisting the urge to snort, he made his way over to his left where Hayley was setting down the ingredients they had gathered over the years onto a rusting metal table. The venom of the packs on one side and a few dark objects on the other. Hayley insisted that they would amplify the Mikaelson witch's power.

"She has the same stink they do," Keelin replied tightly, jerking her head at Hayley but Dean hardly noticed as he stared unseeingly at their failsafe.

A small sad smile crossed the hunter's face as he gently picked up the delicate glass tube filled with the pure shimmering essence of an angel. A major reminder of why he continued to do this. If an angel's grace couldn't save Hope's and Hayley's family then nothing would. Nothing on this Earth was more powerful.

Hayley had turned away and carefully placing the vial back onto the table, Dean tuned back in to the conversation. Hayley had finally decided to throw the dog a bone as she stated with apparent boredom, "I'm special. I'm a hybrid. Half-vampire, half-werewolf and considering that I saved your ass, you should show me some respect."

"If you think you can control me you have another thing coming," Keelin retorted, placing a shaking hand on the base of a coffin to haul herself up onto her feet.

Hayley watched her movements with a smug smile. "I won't control you but I can't say the same about _him_ ," She jerked her thumb towards her companion who was watching the Keelin like a predator stalking its prey.

Hayley admired Dean for his restraint, knowing he was never one to do so. Over time, this rescue mission had become as important to him as it was to her. She and Hope were part of the few remaining family members he had left which were still breathing.

He was doing this all for them, to reunite at least one family, all the while knowing that his turn would never come.

Hayley's eyes burned. She had never let it show before, she always had to be strong for Dean and for Hope but _God_ how she _missed_ _them_.

Shaking her head and quickly regaining her composure, she smiled a wry smile as she read the disbelief clear on Keelin's face when she eyed Dean. A small smirk was playing at the end of the hunter's lips and placing a hand on her hips, Hayley warned the wolf, "If I were you, I would be afraid."

 _Of him?_ Keelin laughed and reigned in her thoughts because her inner wolf was on edge. The beast inside was telling her that she should be afraid but the human had no clue as to why. Instead of listening to the weak instinct, she squared her shoulders and clenched her fists as she scoffed, "He's just a _hunter_. A human. A breakable human. What the hell could he do to me?"

The hunter stepped forwards, closing the distance between them and Keelin curled her hand over the coffin edge behind her. She crouched slightly as she noticed the lethal glint in his forest gaze. "Because I am more than just your ordinary hunter, got myself quite the family legacy to uphold."

He idly played with his gun as he watched her intently. As if he was waiting for some reaction... and then out of the corner of her eye, she saw it. The hunter's movements had been deliberate... all to show her the thin indents at the hilt. They spelled out two letters.

 _D.W._

Ice water doused Keelin's body and she scrambled back as fast as she could, not even caring as she slammed against another coffin. The pain barely registered. All rational thought had gone.

Every smart supernatural made sure to learn everything they could about the hunters who stood a chance at endangering their lives. Keelin was one of the smart ones and there was only one family of hunters whose surname began with a W. The family which contained the deadliest hunters to ever exist.

The Hybrid had sided with a _Winchester_ and Keelin Moses was plain terrified.

"Are you crazy? What the hell are you doing with him?" she shouted at Hayley, uncontrollable tremors racking through right down to her bones. Her eyes flashed a very faint gold, representative of the weak beast pacing within her.

What she wasn't expecting was the response.

A humoured smirk wavered around the corners of Dean Winchester's mouth before he held out his hand, palm facing upwards. Hayley glared half-heartedly before placing what looked like a fifty dollar bill into his outstretched hand.

"Awesome," he said as he transferred his winnings towards the pocket of his jeans, making sure that his movements were slow and deliberate to piss Hayley off more.

"Don't you dare spend that all on pie," Hayley growled and Dean inwardly felt victorious as he finally slipped the cash in. The poor hybrid was just sullen because she had lost the last time too.

"Well you should have thought about that when you decided to bet against me," he replied with a smug grin.

He had warned her time and time again never to go against him. He hadn't lived a life on the road for free after all. The money to survive had to come from somewhere and it certainly wasn't from something as mundane as a job. And now he knew exactly what to spend his winnings on.

"Love me some _pie_ ," he muttered to himself and his sense of victory rose higher at Hayley's exasperated sigh. Annoying her was too easy.

"Sorry," Hayley apologised as she turned from Dean to focus on the still petrified werewolf who was staring at the two of them with wide doe eyes. "We had a bet on your reaction."

What kind of alternate reality had Keelin stepped into? A hybrid and a hunter working together? And a _Winchester_ at that. The very idea alone must have breached the supernatural balance. If the fear ever fell away, Keelin would sure be curious to know how the whole thing even happened in the first place.

During her internal ramblings, Dean had made his way back to the truck. Knowing that Hayley was watching him, he pulled out a battle-axe and turned to her with pleading eyes. All that he got in response was an unamused expression.

"Can we please just keep it a clean death tonight? Less... head choppy?" she demanded whilst her fingertips massaged circles against her temples.

Dean stared back at her as if she had kicked a puppy. "Spoil all the fun why don't you?" he uttered to himself before equipping himself with a few less flashy weapons and shutting the boot with a loud slam.

"Okay... okay..." The quiet murmurs of the petrified wolf trying to reassure herself caused Dean and Hayley to turn to face her.

She was curled up in a small ball. Her hands were wrapped securely around her legs, her chin on her knees and her eyes looked straight ahead as she forced herself to calm down. After five minutes, Hayley heard the steady thump thump of her heart before she finally turned her attention upon them.

"I'll give you what you want. Just promise to leave me be." She paused before adding bitterly, "It's not like I have a choice."

"That's right, you don't," Dean interjected but Hayley just nodded and strode out of Keelin's line of vision.

The sound of rustling could be heard and when she returned, Keelin's stomach turned. Her palms were sweaty as she gripped her legs tighter, as if hoping that her little ball of security would protect her from what was to come. Because the hybrid had not returned single handed. Within her grasp was a metal mask with a variety of tubes protruding from the mouth.

When Hayley stepped forwards, Keelin flinched back. "Hey, look, I don't know what kind of pervy stuff you're into, but I am not that kind of girl," she argued whilst internally trying to find a way to buy herself some more time. Anything to prevent that thing from being attached onto her face.

"This is the device to extract your venom," Hayley explained coldly, knowing that no amount of cajoling was going to work anymore.

"And it ain't gonna be a walk in the park," Dean continued from where she left off as he perched himself on top of the table, ignoring the creaks from the aged metal as it took his weight.

When Hayley took another step forwards, Keelin snarled, her eyes flickering from brown to gold then back again.

Almost reaching the tether of his restraint, Dean snapped, "I'd quieten it down if I were you sweetheart, growl at us again and I'll be the one to muzzle you and I _will_ make it hurt."

"Why are you doing this to me?" Keelin retorted but her voice came out small and unnaturally childlike for someone of her age. Although considering the circumstances that she was in, it was understandable.

All she wanted to do was have a drink with her friends and celebrate the new stage of her life. It had been a new beginning and all of it had been ripped away because of her heritage which she had desperately tried to suppress.

For the first time that night, actual remorse crossed Hayley's face and Dean closed his eyes. What a wreck he must look like. If Hayley's sallow face and the bags underneath her eyes were any indication of her physical wellbeing then he fared no better.

They had been at this for what seemed like a very long time and now they were almost at the finishing hurdle. And as much as Dean's hatred for werewolves went, this one, like Hayley, was different. It had been so much easier when he classed every supernatural being as a monster.

Hayley, like Dean, could tell they were close and after a hesitant debate in her head, she crossed the room to where Keelin lay curled on the floor and pulled the woman to her feet. Turning the wolf to face the coffin, Hayley braced her hands on the lid before pushing it up and revealing the person within.

After five years, Freya Mikaelson hadn't changed one bit. She laid there in her enclosed bed, her eyes serenely closed as if she was only sleeping. Dreaming of a world far better than this one.

Noticing Keelin's sudden rapt attention Hayley persisted with a soft tone, "I'm trying to save my _family_. Keelin, the people in there are _dying_. The only thing keeping them alive is a sleep spell and the only one that can cure them is her." When Keelin stayed silent, her eyes never moving from Freya's face she continued with a more ordered tone, "She's a witch and she left me instructions on how to wake her up early. The only thing I'm missing is your venom. Once she gets on her feet, I can give her the ingredients I got. And, with any luck, no one has to die."

Silence fell as Keelin took the time to ponder her reply. Against her will, she felt her gaze drift back to the woman in the box. She didn't want to do this, that much was certain but an inner voice at the back of her mind started to whisper and Keelin agreed.

Somebody that beautiful shouldn't be confined to a box. It just didn't seem fair.

"So if I give you what you want will you let me go?" she asked, hoping for a confirmation.

"You have my word," Hayley replied and taking a deep breath, Keelin turned to the hunter who was already staring at her intently. She refused to look away this time and stared back with equal determination. Showing him her desire to live.

A slight twitch at the corner of his lips and the sharp jerk of his head caused her to sigh with relief. Once she did this, she would finally be free. She would carry on living and that gave her strength.

Dean reluctantly pushed himself off the table and approached the wolf. When he reached her side she jumped, startled by his sudden closeness but all he said was, "You're gonna have to sit down for this."

He gestured towards an uncomfortable metal chair and despite her reservations, Keelin followed his instructions. Dean quickly wrapped a thin chain round her wrist, anchoring her arm to the chair. She swallowed and ran her tongue over her upper lip to wipe away the sweat which was quickly gathering.

"What's this for?" she managed to stutter out through her fear.

Dean paused for a moment, not wanting to go into the exact detail of how this procedure would go. He wasn't kidding when he said it wasn't a walk in the park.

"Precaution," he finally replied and once he was sure she was bound securely enough to prevent her from hurting herself in the agony that was to come, he stepped back so Hayley could fix the mask in place.

Noticing the slight quiver in the hybrid's hands as she retreated back a step, Dean placed a hand on her arm. "Go," he commanded quietly and Hayley looked at him. A whoosh of air and she was gone from view.

Returning to the desk, Dean sat down and braced his hands on his knees as he waited to make sure he had done a good enough job on the wolf. He was going to keep his promise in letting her go free. They owed her.

That was when her screams started.

* * *

 _Breathe. Just Breathe._

Hayley braced her palms on the low wall before her, dark eyes tightly shut as she tried to block out the sounds representing Keelin's agony. The wolf's words were spinning around constantly in her head.

 _Why are you doing this to me?_

Swallowing hard, her jaw clenched and her fingers dug into the brick, gripping the stone slab until tiny pieces began to crumble away, succumbing to the pressure of her hybrid strength.

If there was any other way to do this, Hayley would have found it by now but in the end, no matter how long she would mull it over, she would always come back to the same one word answer: Family. Everything she did was for them, for her daughter who needed more than she and Dean could offer her.

After Grace and Sam; the recent in the long list of people she had lost, Hayley had found herself numbed to the thoughts and feelings of people around her. None of it mattered. The wolves of the seven packs were nothing but collateral in the quest to bring her loved ones back.

She could never bring herself to think of the repercussions but Keelin was different from the rest. That may have been the very reason why no one knew she existed. The other wolves bragged about their heritage; they had no reservations on bloodshed and gore but Keelin was just a woman who was trying to survive in a human dominated world.

Hayley slowly opened her eyes, feeling the stinging pain and pulling her hand back, she stared blankly at the crusted blood beneath her fingernails. She must have gripped the brick too hard but the wounds were already healing.

Why did she suddenly care so much now? In the back of her mind, she already knew the true answer. In the end Keelin was still a wolf. A lone wolf without a pack. Like she was once upon a time. Maybe it was simply instinct.

When her super hearing picked up on the lithe footsteps approaching, Hayley turned round to face him and perched herself on the low wall, waiting for the update. Once Dean had seated himself, he stared straight ahead, his lips pressed in a firm line.

"She's resilient, I'll give her that," he informed her and despite the situation, Hayley smiled. That was the one thing she loved about the hunter, he never sugar coated, always gave it to her straight. Ripping off the proverbial band aid before she even had a chance to hesitate.

Elbows resting on her knees with her hands clasped tightly in front of her, Hayley stared off into the pitch black sky, far enough away from the city that she could catch the faint litter of stars, twinkling down brightly from above. The sight almost drowned out the screams. _Almost._

Sighing she finally spoke out, her voice barely a whisper but she knew that he would still catch it. "How do we do this?" she wondered and from the silence she received, she knew he was listening. Swallowing, she continued, "The bloodshed. The violence. How do we cope?"

It was a good question. A question that not even Dean Winchester had the answer to. Because honestly, he had no idea how he coped. From a young age he just followed the rules his father had set out for him. He knew what kind of monsters were out there and he knew that every hunt always came with a risk. That was why none of them lived long.

When John died, Dean didn't grieve, simply took out his anger. It was Grace who knocked the sense into him, who pulled him out of his shit emotional spiral so the two of them could focus on saving Sammy. That was when the definition of cope was tested.

It seemed that the Winchester siblings could handle everything, from finding the killed, to becoming the killers. Grace had endured forty years of torture in hell whilst Dean managed thirty before he succumbed down the path of a torturer.

Yet Dean knew that after everything he, Gracie and Sammy had dealt with, they could never cope with losing each other. That was always their fatal flaw.

In the end the reply which left his lips was as true as it could ever get. "You don't cope," he stated, his green eyes hard as they fixed themselves on the entrance to the warehouse. "You just learn to deal with the crap life throws at you."

Hayley pondered his answer before asking, "Would you ever change anything?"

Dean knew the undertone enquiry in her question. "You want the truth Hayley? The life Grace, Sam and I led? It ruined us. But we were never given the choice." Their lives had been put on a fixed path from the moment the yellow eyed demon Azazel left their mother's bloodied corpse attached to the ceiling of Sammy's nursery. Waiting for John Winchester to find.

"Do you think we can save Hope from all that?" Hayley's words were barely decipherable but Dean still picked it up. The nervous, scared words of a mother, intent on protecting her innocent daughter.

A long time ago, in the final days before the failed apocalypse, the three Winchester siblings had vowed that they would preserve the innocence of Hope Mikaelson for as long as they could. Dean hoped that when the Mikaelson family was resurrected, they would continue to do what was best for her. That kid deserved the best.

"I think we've done alright so far," he responded softly. "And alright in a world like this is pretty damn good."

Hayley leaned in and rested her head on Dean's shoulder. He was right. Alright _was_ pretty damn good. With that reassurance in mind, the hybrid closed her eyes, listening sadly to Keelin's never-ending screams.

* * *

Dean and Hayley returned to the warehouse not even a minute after the noise had quietened down. Noticing the unmoving form of the wolf, the two of them exchanged a glance.

From the clear liquid which had collected at the base of the tubes, it was apparent that the extraction had been successful. They had finally procured the last of the venom from the seven clans but that was not on either of their minds at the present.

After their talk, Hayley forced herself to focus on Keelin first. The wolf had screamed louder than the others and the process had taken a lot longer.

Refusing to prolong the poor woman's suffering for a moment longer, Hayley nodded towards Dean who instantly strode towards her unmoving form and reached out his hands to carefully remove the mask. It fell away with ease and he was met with tired eyes.

There was a pale tinge to the woman's rich chocolate skin as she slumped against her chair completely exhausted, her forehead dripping tiny beads of sweat.

Never once attempting to initiate a conversation, Dean passed the mask over towards Hayley who swiped up an empty vial on the table which would collect the venom.

"You got my venom. When do I get to go?" Even Keelin's voice sounded weak but Dean admired that. After all they had put her through, she was still focused on her one goal to escape. Nevertheless, neither he nor Hayley made a move to untie her and that had the wolf on edge.

"As soon as I know it works," was Hayley's focused reply as she placed the vial beside the other six.

"And when will that be?" Keelin pressed.

"Believe me, you'll know when you see it," Hayley stated shortly and her body started to quiver faintly as she turned towards Dean who placed the syringe into her awaiting hand. Her heartbeat thudded with fear and adrenaline as she idly ran her forefinger along Freya's cure.

After all this time, they were here. Hayley had been dreaming of this moment for five years and all she wanted was to prolong it for as long as possible. If Freya woke up, everything would start to move very quickly and despite hers and Dean's hard efforts, they had no idea if this was going to work.

How was she supposed to go home and explain to her daughter that she had broken the promise she made? That all of this had been for nothing?

"So we're going to wake up Sleeping Beauty here?" Keelin summarised, her gaze subconsciously straying back to the stunning blonde female, who looked perfectly serene and tempting all at the same time. Despite her protests, she found herself wanting this to work for her own selfish reasons.

She craved for this Freya to open her eyes, to immerse her gaze in the colour of the witch's dazzling orbs.

"Man don't you catch on quick," Dean replied his gruff voice laced with sarcasm which quickly snapped Keelin out of her reverie but she didn't dare retort back. His identity changed the way her mind worked. She had to cooperate if she didn't want him to go back on his promise.

However, that didn't stop the array of question upon question bubbling up inside her mouth and she couldn't stop herself from blurting out, "How do we do that?"

Growling lowly, Dean snapped his head towards Hayley. "You sure we can't just keep the muzzle on her? Would sure be a hell of a lot more peaceful round here."

Keelin flinched back into her chair and smiling a tight lipped smile, Hayley lightly shoved the hunter with her shoulder, knowing that he was partly bluffing. But Dean had accomplished his goal. The wolf had shut up.

This right now was a big moment for Hayley and she needed the quiet. To organise her army of thoughts which were fighting against each other as she ever so slowly approached Freya's sleeping form.

Clutching the syringe tight in her hand yet ensuring that her strength didn't smash the delicate thing into little pieces, she whispered into the tense air, "Please let this work," and without further ado, she thrust her hand down. The needle plunged into Freya's chest and as steadily as she could, Hayley pushed the serum in.

Hayley didn't have time to wait and think about the alternative, she didn't have time to stew and let her panic gather because not even one second had passed before a loud gasp shattered the tense silence. The gasp which was coming from a mouth desperate for air.

Freya Mikaelson's body jerked upwards, her breathing coming out in ragged gasps as she glanced wildly around at her surroundings. She was disorientated and instantly on edge.

The last thing she remembered was Kol. She had been laughing with him about something before everything suddenly went dark and cold. She had remembered the distant sound of Kol's yells as he called out for their other siblings before the vivid and colourful vision of the Chambre de Chasse was replaced by pains, aches and a bitter chill.

She had never felt anything like this in a long time which meant only one thing. She was finally awake.

The deduction hit her like a ton of bricks before her wide jade eyes locked with a dark hazel. She tried to speak but her voice was so raw. Instead she lifted up her weak arms and found her face being suffocated by a mass of brunette hair. A smile reached her lips before it was replaced with a hard determination.

Reunions would have to wait. She had a job to do.

"Freya! Are you okay?" Hayley gasped, her voice a cross between relief and laughter as she clutched the ancient Mikaelson witch tight, all the while still trying to wrap her head around what was going on. It had worked. It had actually _worked_. Freya was _cured_.

Their familial reunion, although it felt somehow private, had still been privy to two watchful gazes. Keelin was eyeing Freya, completely captivated but Dean had retreated back a little.

The green-eyed hunter's arms were crossed, watching on with a fierce gaze with his lips pressed into a thin line. It was no secret that he didn't like witches. Satanists the lot of them. Using body parts and fluids for spells was downright disgusting and unsanitary. Every single one before Freya, he had put down.

This went against _everything_ he had learned and although he was fine with it, that didn't mean that he was going to welcome her with open arms. So he remained reserved, watching her like a hawk, trying to get a taste of what this woman was like.

As soon as the two family members pulled back, Freya wasted no time. "Did you get the ingredients?" she demanded a little breathlessly and at Hayley's nod she forced herself up and out of the coffin. She refused to be confined within that thing for a moment longer. "Good I need to begin." She stumbled towards the table, quickly committing where everything was placed to memory. "If I can't turn that all into a cure," she stopped to inhale a sharp breath, feeling the blood rushing round her body as it adjusted to the first amount of movement in five years. "Elijah and Kol are going to die."

As Freya's sombre words made impact, Hayley's face went from relieved to stricken to afraid. The emotions passed at such a quick pace that it almost gave her a headache.

Freya braced her arms on the surface of the table and her head hung as she struggled to control the pants escaping from her parted lips.

Being the only rational one in those few seconds, Dean stepped forward. He was no stranger to life threatening situations but the one thing that he understood was that there was always time. And time, no matter how little, was still time. It was time to intervene.

"What do you need," he demanded, his voice rung out clear as he took control and for the first time since waking up, Freya's focus was upon him.

In the midst of her awakening, she had been oblivious to his presence and for now, would continue to be so. From one glance, Freya could tell that this man was cold and practical but the way he acted around Hayley was protective, familial. And then in those forest green eyes, the Mikaelson witch saw it. Loss. _Agony_.

Whoever this man was, he was grieving and Hayley may have been one of the only ones he had left; if not the only one left. She was intrigued by the set of circumstances which brought the human and the hybrid together but for now she filed it to the back of her mind. Questioning would have to wait.

Clearing her mind she spoke tonelessly, "I would prefer it if I could carry out what I need to do without interruptions."

Dean swallowed down his pride. The amount of people who were undermining his abilities was starting to become insulting very fast. "You need a talisman. No offence sweetheart but I doubt you can pull all this off by yourself."

"Freya, trust me, Dean's good at what he does and we don't have long," Hayley urged as she placed a hand on the witch's arm.

Time was of the essence and if Hayley trusted him then Freya would reluctantly extend that trust. "Heptagram," she relented, going over to the table stockpiled with the ingredients she had instructed Hayley to gather. "If drawn _correctly_ I should be able to channel my magic."

Dean nodded. "Now see what happens with a bit of cooperation," he muttered to himself as he snatched the piece of chalk from Freya's fingertips and knelt down, setting himself to work.

As he rapidly traced out the outlines of the seven pointed star, green eyes narrowed when he felt the hairs at the nape of his neck rise. An instinct which he now interpreted as being watched yet his concentration never once wavered.

Freya observed the older Winchester as he worked, waiting for him to slip up but all that she felt through her adrenaline fused heart was shock.

The symbol had been drawn to complete perfection. The size and shape on point. Not even one line out of place. Even Freya had slipped up on a line from time to time but the confidence which was flaring out of this man told her one thing.

He had done this before.

Shaking herself out of her stupor and focusing back on the task at hand, she circled the symbol, placing down one candle and one vial of venom at each of the seven points. She paused at the last point and against her better judgement, knelt down beside the male.

Apart from the slight stiffening of his shoulders, he made no move to acknowledge her but Freya didn't let that deter her. "You know your stuff," she admitted.

Dean oblivious to her admirations simply shrugged and leant back into a crouch as he examined the symbol in front of him, rolling the chalk between his thumb and forefinger as he replied darkly, "Well this ain't my first rodeo."

The number of symbols he had drawn to ward away or entrap demons and other powerful beings was over a thousand times more than the number of females he had slept with and that was saying a lot.

Freya wanted to question him further but she realised this was the best she would get out of him. Instead she furrowed an eyebrow and questioned, "What did you say your name was again?"

Dean shot her a grin. "I didn't."

And those two words, no matter how casual they sounded, had managed to unsettle Freya Mikaelson for the first time since she escaped Dahlia. As both Freya and Dean locked eyes, the witch knew then and there that this man, whoever he was, could prove to be a loyal friend or a deadly foe.

She prayed to whatever deity existed that it would be the former because if it wasn't, something inside told her that this man with the forest green eyes could end up being the greatest adversary her family would ever face.

* * *

"How much longer do we have?"

Freya tore her eyes away from Dean's, still struck with wariness at her internal revelation. Bracing the palms of her hands against her thighs, the jade eyed witch pushed herself to her feet and strode back towards the table of remaining ingredients.

Picking up a wooden bowl, she filled it with a vial of her brother's blood. Klaus had always thought it beneficial for her to have some on hand since the loss of her dearly departed brother Finn. He was right.

Carrying the bowl back to the Heptagram, she knelt down to place it in the centre. Answering Hayley's question, she stated still a little wheezy from her sudden awakening, "Maybe an hour. Assuming they live that long."

Hayley ran a hand haphazardly through her knotted tresses. It felt like the tangled strands were representing her current state of mind: stressed and terrified.

Dean straightened up, sensing her worry and stood by her, a show of silent support. The gratitude she felt towards him was immense and it gave her the inner strength she needed to not give up just yet.

Biting her lip, she stressed, "You sure you have everything we need?"

They had already gone through this so many times in the space of five minutes but unperturbed Freya nodded, her eyes scanning the room as she quickly checked everything off. "Venom from the seven packs, along with Klaus' blood. Infused by my magic and magnified by the Dark Objects."

Her voice then lowered to a mutter as she continued to herself, "It's going to take all of my strength and more than a little luck, but it should be enough to fashion a cure to save my brothers."

Dean caught the flaw in the plan once again. He heard the witch say it before but he passed it off due to her disorientation. Now that she had reiterated it a second time, he realised that Freya Mikaelson didn't have a fucking clue if this was gonna work.

And this time, Hayley had picked up on it too. The hybrid froze as she slowly turned to fully face Freya, giving the Mikaelson witch all her focus. "Should?" she deadpanned, dark eyes fixed coldly on the blonde. "What do you mean _should?"_

"I think that's exactly what she means, Hayls," Dean responded darkly when Freya remained silent. The woman was relying on fate and luck and he no longer believed in any of that crap. Call him a cynic but the oldest Winchester expected the witch to be competent enough to give them results.

He hadn't come all this way to only end up with a dead end and there was still another option. The failsafe.

Hayley was thinking upon the same lines. Squaring up to the oldest Mikaelson her anger exploded. "Then screw your plan because whilst you were sleeping, we came up with a better one." At the raised eyebrow she received, the hybrid whipped around and stormed towards the table, snatching up the small vial before returning. Thrusting it in Freya's face she demanded, "Just use this."

Freya reluctantly took the vial from Hayley's hands and began to examine it carefully. Never before had she come across anything so beautiful. It seemed to call to her, the power entrancing, tempting her to unscrew the seal and set it free.

The witch was so entranced by the sight of the blue-white mist swirling ever so gracefully within its glass container that she barely heard Hayley's pleads for her to listen.

"Listen to me Freya. Someone I care a whole lot about went through hell to get us that. It's a lot more powerful than it looks." Blinking back tears which formed behind closed eyelids she breathed, "She said it would cure our family.

Freya could feel the power emanating from the essence within the vial. The more she watched it, the more the substance seemed alive. Trapped within its confines and begging for an escape.

Forcing herself out of her stupor, she shook her head. She couldn't use it. Despite her inclination to trust Hayley, the only thing she trusted when it came to saving her family was her own logic and instincts. Something that strong could be dangerous.

She wanted to save her family more than anything but she knew nothing about what was in the vial, _nothing_ about the side effects.

Sighing, she placed it down on the side. "I'm sorry Hayley but without proof I can't take the risk that it won't work."

"We are risking everything _now!_ " Hayley exclaimed, her eyes flashing gold as she released an animalistic snarl. She was so lost in her anger that the dark haired hybrid didn't even realise that there was no voice backing her up.

Surprisingly, Dean had remained uncharacteristically silent throughout Hayley's fruitless attempts to persuade a relentless Freya but inside he was seething. Grace's final gift to them had been for _nothing_ and knowing that ripped another tear through his already shredded heart.

When Hayley and Keelin suddenly stiffened, Dean ignored it, too lost in imagining what his baby sister would think. If he was being honest with himself, he knew she would have understood. None of it would have mattered. The only thing which had ever mattered to Gracie was him and Sammy. Bobby and Cas were also there although the latter he hadn't heard a rat's ass off. Somewhere throughout the years, Hayley and Hope had been added to her list.

If any of them were in danger, Grace would have the say on how to save them. When it came to the Mikaelson Family, his part was finished. Now it was up to Hayley and Freya; the ones who actually had the say.

When his ears picked up the squealing of tyres against tarmac, his lips twisted up. "Looks like the wannabe cavalry's arrived," he muttered, his hand reaching down for his handgun and he flung the safety off with anticipation. He grinned at Hayley who returned the gesture. The two of them were ready.

Hayley, let me go, please? If it's vampires, they're gonna kill me," Keelin pleaded, struggling hard against her binds but no one paid her any notice except Dean who simply sent her a look. As a wolf he was surprised that the restraints had held for this long.

"They must have been tracking her," Freya deduced as her eyes shot from Hayley's to Dean's. "I need more time," she pleaded.

"I can get you that," Dean responded, knowing that he sounded a little too eager as he gripped the weapon tight in his hand, feeling the dagger pressed against his left thigh. Easy to draw out if he needed something for close combat but his gun should be enough. "I'm back in the game, baby."

After the aggravating turn of events, he was itching to take a few of those sons of bitches down. Send them a firm reminder of who the true hunters were.

Knowing she was much faster, Hayley sped on ahead. She stood in the centre of a parking lot. Clear open space, the perfect place for a slaughter. The hybrid thought that she would feel at least some fear but all that coursed through her was determination. There was no need to be afraid. After everything she had faced, this was just one more monster added to the list.

She watched bored as the black tyres squealed to a halt. The car doors swung open and Hayley found herself completely surrounded.

"Took a long time, but we finally caught you," one of the vampires commented..

"Or maybe I just stopped running," Hayley retorted with a leer and was met with a round of laughter. That was their first mistake. Their egos. They thought she was alone, an easy prey but the tables were quickly gonna turn.

When the one she suspected was the ringleader stepped forwards, she held up a hand to stop him.

"You see I have this friend. Strong muscles, _killer_ eyes, _great_ hair. He's the reason that you are going to die tonight." She hid a triumphant grin at the slow apprehension which engulfed each and every one of their faces.

Their full attention was on her now and she was reeling them in like fish on a line.

"Didn't your parents ever tell you to never mess with a supernatural hunter?" she reprimanded them before letting out an exaggerated tutting noise, "I would be _stupid_ not to come to this fight without him."

She could see the group shifting and cocking her head to the side as her gaze flicked up for a brief moment over the ringleader's left shoulder before she said innocently, delivering the final blow, "He's right behind you by the way."

Before she had even finished her sentence, the sound of a loud bang cracked through the air and the ringleader's face changed. His flesh decayed to a pale grey as black veins bulged out through the skin. His body crumpled to the ground, black eyes blank, unmoving and lifeless.

Dean stood behind him, playfully blowing the tip of his gun to clear the proverbial smoke before sending her a quick wink. "Right in the heart," he praised himself before looking to Hayley for confirmation, "Good right?"

"Bit too dramatic for my taste," Hayley retorted back with a grin but she had been with the Winchesters for over two years. She knew that every single one of them more than lived up to their namesake.

It was like everything went in slow motion, as the vampires stared from the desiccated body to the human and back again. As if they just couldn't comprehend how a mortal had even snuck up behind them, let alone kill a vampire.

It was only brief and then everything went to chaos. The vampires sped forwards but Hayley's hybrid enhancements and Dean's years of experience were unfathomable. She ripped out a heart, sending the second body crumpling to the floor. He hit a bullet straight to the temple and the third body fell.

She ducked. He dodged. Like a well-choreographed dance, they moved in sync.

Hayley sped forwards, eyes glittering gold as she found the fourth target. Fangs elongated, she tore apart the fabric of his sleeve in her haste to rip open the skin beneath. When he fell to the floor, he was met with a gun at the temple as Dean initiated the killing blow. The fifth vampire met the same fate.

That was when the remaining ones decided to surround them.

As Dean ended the life of a sixth target, he noticed the vampires' sudden change in tactics. Retreating to regather a plan of action, his back hit something. His first instinct was to shoot but when he heard the familiar growl, he didn't need to check over his shoulder to know it was Hayley.

In the midst of all the fighting Dean couldn't resist it, " _Strong_ muscles, _Killer_ eyes, _great_ hair - I'm flattered Hayls, really I am but you know you ain't my type."

"Oh shut up I was trying to up that insatiable ego of yours," Hayley hissed back. An inflated ego meant overconfidence. And an overconfident Dean meant the body count would quickly rise.

The two of them stood back to back as they faced the vampires who had them cornered and were beginning to circle them in a tight formation. Hearing a rapid pounding, Hayley cocked her head to the side as she focused on the heartbeat. Dean wasn't one for fear... and then it hit her.

"You are _loving_ this aren't you? _"_ she muttered as she eyed the vampires, looking for the weak link.

Her words were met with a deep chuckle. "Damn straight," Dean responded with a killer smile which he sent towards a gangly male in front of him who instantly paled.

Death was coming but there was now one thing for certain. Thanks to the hunter, Hayley-Marshall-Kenner was no longer on his list.

* * *

 _ **Reviews** :  
Dark-Supernatural-Angel: I considered it but I wanted them to remain in the shadows... for now. You may or may not get your wish in the next update ;) I would say that Hope regards Dean as an uncle! And the Mikaelson meetings are beginning. Hope you liked it!  
ItzIzzieMonsta: Haha, hope you liked this one too!  
lilnightmare17: Freya's finally in! Not long now ;)  
Guest 1: Glad you liked the flashbacks! There may be more turning up too. Hope you liked it  
Markosgirl69: Not too long now ;)  
Guest 2: It's here! Hope you liked it.  
Guest 3: It's finally here! Sorry it took so long :)  
Guest 4: It's finally out! You won't have to wait as long for the next one!  
Guest 5: I'm so glad you like it! The drafting for the next one is done so you shouldn't be waiting too long for it :D  
Guest 6: Sorry for leaving you hanging! You should get some answers about Grace in the next chapter :) I'm sure Zadkiel will be appearing at one point - there is already a scene with him and Grace which I have planned.  
Guest 7:It's up :D_


	8. A Turn of Events

_"La candidat au somme la toxique cantus, La candidat au somme la toxique cantus, La candidat au somme la toxique cantus..."_

Keelin sat in an immobile position, twisting her arms uselessly within her bonds. If the restraints had managed to hold her in place during the most excruciating moment of her life, then they weren't going to provide her with relent now. It was hopeless and yet the curly haired wolf refused to give up.

Despite that, a small break wouldn't hurt. Once the thought crossed her mind, her body sagged and she hung her head, trying to regain what little energy she had left.

Normally, most werewolves would have already healed but there was a reason her venom extraction had taken longer than anticipated. There was a reason why she wasn't strong enough to tear herself from her bonds.

During her years of medical training, she had experimented on her werewolf side, hoping to suppress the beast within so she could live a normal life. And she succeeded to an extent. The animal inside was still present if she focused hard enough on it but it didn't control her anymore.

Blinking up through tired eyes, Keelin watched the Sleeping Beauty who had recently awoken. Despite her predicament, Keelin had to admit that the woman's beauty had increased after the first sight.

Freya was sitting down, crossed legged inside the magic chalk circle, her arms elevated with her palms facing up as she repeated the incantation over and over.

Biting the inside of her cheek, Keelin allowed herself a faint smile until she caught a sudden sound within her mind. The faint growls of her wolf within. It sensed another presence. The wolf and the witch were no longer alone.

When the revelation crossed her mind, Keelin renewed her struggles, thrashing against her bonds with vigour. Out of the corner of her eyeline, she could see the vampire coming into the room and overridden by panic, brown eyes flashed gold.

Completely unbeknownst to the slight change, she persevered and with the next sharp yank, her arm slipped itself out of the bindings. She stared at her appendage in disbelief.

The vampire was now less than a few feet away and Keelin desperately flung out her arm yet all she could do was press her palm against the male's chest. He was too far away for a direct hit.

Smirking, the male snatched up her wrist. He twisted it sharply. Keelin held in her cry, turning her pain into anger. She raked her nails into his skin causing red welts to form on the flesh. Seeping blood.

The vampire growled as he tightened his hold but through her pain, Keelin growled louder, seeing nothing but red. "I will claw out your eyes, you blood-sucking punk ass," she spat.

The commotion hindering her concentration caused Freya to open her eyes. She met the sight before her with one exaggerated eye roll before she flicked her hand; the motion sharp and swift, never once breaking free of her chant.

The vampire released Keelin instantly, his hands desperately clawing at his face. Blood poured out of his nostrils as he sunk to the floor, the familiar lines of desiccation taking over his body.

Keelin watched the process with her mouth agape. "You just waved your hand and his _brain melted?_ " she summarised incredulously, not even realising how she was no longer struggling, too in awe of the woman before her.

Closing her eyes once more, Freya replied offhandedly, "Well, that's what happens when people annoy me."

* * *

Between both Hayley and Dean, the bodies were quickly piling up but more and more vampires were appearing out of the shadows. Every single creature of the night thirsted for the blood of their two enemies and yet no one had fully succeeded in getting to the human who was still standing in the midst of the increasing carnage.

The green eyed hunter had remained unharmed; the only indicator of injury in the form of a small cut at his temple which dribbled a thin line of blood down the right side of his cheek.

Hayley, knowing Dean as well as she did, realised that he had deliberately allowed the injury to make the killings a hell of a lot easier. She picked off the ones which went into a blood frenzy whilst he took down the ones from afar with a well-aimed bullet to the head or heart.

After another loud bang, signifying another body drop, the vampires receded.

Brushing the hair out of her face, Hayley stepped in front of Dean in a protective stance, giving the hunter time to reload his bullets as one lone vampire approached.

He regarded the bodies without expression before turning his attention towards the hybrid. At the sight of the gun pointed in his face, he expressed no fear. The human had balls. He would have made a good vampire but he currently was too pissed off to think of future investments.

"Your bite is nasty," he began to address Hayley as he took another step forwards before his attention turned to Dean, "And your skill with a gun is to be admired but you are both outnumbered."

At the smug smile the human sent in his direction, he resisted the urge to rip the walking blood-bag apart on the spot. The time would come for that very soon.

"Give up now and we'll end this quick," he offered.

Dean had to reluctantly admit that the bastards were damn well good, much more talented than the other bloodsucker breed he had faced. But these ones, like so many before them, would eventually fall and stepping to Hayley's side, he murmured, "Time to up the game."

Hayley's head craned towards him and Dean watched triumphantly as the determined chestnut eyes looking back at him dissolved into a much brighter gold than he had ever seen. She fell to the ground and the air was filled with the sickening cracking of bones. Clothes ripped into shreds.

The vampires watched Hayley's transformation with undeniable terror whilst Dean watched the vampires animatedly. They had let their guard down... again. It was pitiful.

With a well-timed shot, another body fell yet none of the vampires moved to counteract. Because right before the forest eyed Winchester, now stood a beautiful silver-pelted wolf.

She paced on the spot as Dean exclaimed proudly into the now tense night air, "Boys, meet my pet dog. She hasn't had her shots yet so if I were you, I would be extra careful. Never know what those rabid bites could do." He was met with an unamused eye roll from the beast before him and he sighed. "Go get 'em Scooby _."_

The wolf leapt forwards at his command, hackles raised and its jaws wide. The vampires began to scarper. Dean took after them, adrenaline racing.

There would be no survivors tonight.

* * *

" _La candidat au somme la toxique cantus, La candidat au somme la toxique cantus, La candidat au somme la toxique cantus. La candidat au somme la toxique cantus..."_

Freya's chants began to die down and fearful eyes snapped open.

"It's not working," she muttered, trying to dampen down the despair which was slowly gathering in the pit of her stomach. "It's not _enough_."

After all her preparation, not even the dark objects, her magic and the talisman were enough to turn the ingredients into a cure. She had been so close but she couldn't reach the peak. She wasn't strong enough.

"I need more," she realised, her gaze wild.

As she scanned the room, her gaze suddenly went into a trance. The witch began to take steady steps forwards, her magic luring her towards the small bottle on the table.

Even in the darkness, the substance glowed a haunting white. Lurching to her feet, Freya ran to the vial and with quivering fingers, she unscrewed the top which fell to the floor with a clatter. She didn't bother picking it up as she crossed back to the centre of the room. Kneeling down by the bowl, she clutched the vial tight.

This was so dangerous, Freya knew that but she no longer cared. Because Kol and Elijah were dying and she now had nothing left to lose.

"Please," she whispered hoarsely. Then, holding her breath, she poured.

The shimmering substance flowed into the blood and submerged beneath the viscous depths. Freya stared down at the solution. Nothing. Tears began to form in her eyes, and blinking hard, Freya turned away.

And then the room exploded.

A pure white light burst out of the blood and covered every crevice of the warehouse, illuminating the large room in a fierce brightness. Freya staggered back and clamped her eyelids shut, shielding her vision from the sudden onslaught of power.

She had never felt anything like it in her entire existence. It was a raw untamed energy which blasted violently around the room. Everything was inferior. _She_ was _inferior_. No magic in the world could ever compare.

Then as soon as it appeared, an unknown force sucked the light back into the solution like a vacuum, once again engulfing the room in pure darkness.

Blinking rapidly to dissolve the black dots which were rapidly forming in her eyes, Freya stumbled forwards and stared on in awe. Her mouth fully agape and her breath coming out in ragged gasps as she took in the sight of the clear liquid paste.

Whilst her mind attempted to catch up to the incredible, impossible scene she had just witnessed, she picked up the bowl with trembling hands and rushed towards one of the caskets.

With a sharp flip of her hand, the closest coffin lid burst open. Freya dipped her fingers into the paste and rolled up the suited sleeve before her to reveal the grotesque bite. Now it was out of a state of stasis, the wound oozed black pus and blood.

Biting her lip, she hurriedly covered the mark with the solution and waited.

Time passed. In the midst of her panicked mind, it seemed to take forever and in that moment, Freya's hopes vanished. Her jade eyes glistened with tears and she hung her head.

And then it happened. The Mikaelson witch watched on enraptured as the paste glowed an opaque white before sinking down, absorbing into the skin. The rotten flesh of Marcel's bite began to slowly knit itself back together, leaving nothing behind but unblemished skin.

"Did it work?" Keelin asked incredulously, squinting through the darkness. She too had shut her eyes to protect them from the visionary onslaught.

Letting out a hoarse laugh at the question, realising that she was no longer dreaming, Freya gripped Elijah's hand tight and leant down to whisper in his ear, "Time to awaken brother."

Pulling back, she waited and watched, her hand never once letting go of her brother's, her form utterly still. Not even a breath escaped her lips. She felt nothing except the adrenaline coursing through her heart.

One second passed, two seconds, thre-

Elijah Mikaelson's eyes snapped open.

* * *

A female vampire was staggering towards a car door, her face battered and bruised. Before she could fumble for the door handle, an inhuman growl sounded from behind. Her leg erupted with fire and her body was dragged back. Her hands scrambled desperately against the floor, fingernails oozed blood from within small crevices as she tried and failed to dig them into the ground.

That was the last she remembered.

When the female vampire finally stilled, the wolf stopped its vicious attack and simply stared down at its fallen prey. The neck was gouged; just a single perfect bite and it had all been over. She had died a quick death.

The wolf then closed its eyes. Multiple cracks of bones breaking pierced through the air as the fur retracted into the skin. Claws retreated into fingers and a naked woman now stood in the wolf's place.

Hayley's gold eyes were the last to go as she observed the bodies surrounding her. Dean was nowhere in sight but she wasn't worried in the slightest. He would be taking down the ones which had fled in fear. No one would be living to tell the tale of what happened tonight.

Movement caught her eye and Hayley watched irritated as three vampires forced themselves back to their feet. They all scrutinised her, attempting to find a weakness. Their fangs lengthened but they made no mood to attack. Hayley threw her arms up exasperated.

"You want more? _Come on!_ " she yelled breathlessly, wanting nothing more to get this all over with.

The first one hadn't even taken one step before he vanished.

Hayley looked on confused as her enhanced hearing picked up the sound of a crunch before a body was thrown against a car, shattering the window into tiny pieces of glass shards. The first one was now dead.

A scream from behind caused her to whirl around to find the second and third vampire no longer in sight.

Gasping for breath, Hayley scanned the car park for her unexpected saviour but was met with nothing but silence.

She felt him before she heard him. The smooth fabric of a suit jacket being draped over her shoulders. She slipped her arms through the holes, tears filling her eyes, spilling uncontrollably down her cheeks.

But they weren't tears of sadness.

Hayley could feel his hands as fingers curled gently over her shoulders. Leaning her head back, her eyes fluttered closed as she felt his hot breath against her cheek.

Shock. Relief. _Joy_.

The emotions swirled into one uncontrollable cocktail and unable to wait any longer, Hayley finally spun around to face him.

In that moment, nothing else mattered as she stared into the oak brown eyes of the man she loved. The man she had waited five years for.

A tired laugh escaped her parted lips and she was met with a crooked quirk of a smile.

Her hands reached up, cupping his face, committing every feature of his aristocratic face to memory before she pulled his head down, slanting her lips over his in a desperate kiss. Arms immediately wrapped around her waist, pulling her flush into the warm strength of his chest as he responded with the equal passion of a man starved.

It took all of Hayley's restraint to force herself away but before he could even arch an eyebrow, she flung her arms around his neck and buried her face into his shoulder. Her eyes serenely closed and she sagged into him, smiling when his hand slid up her back to cup her neck.

She had done it. After five years of searching, Elijah Mikaelson was finally cured.

* * *

Thomas Kryton was nobody special. Just another vampire in the midst of the sea of supernaturals who would fall prey to Dean Winchester.

The young immortal may have been the last of Alistair's henchmen left standing but now he was the only one left who feared for his life. His arm burned, blood oozing out of the punctures, his skin sporting a pale grey tinge. Perspiration dripped down his forehead as he staggered down a darkened alleyway.

No matter where he was, he could never escape the man pursuing him. Especially as the disorientation and tiredness threatened to creep up on him. As his suffering from the bite progressed, all it took was a single gunshot to the spine. The bullet sliced through his muscles and severed a nerve, rendering his lower half useless.

Stifling an agonised scream, Thomas crumpled to the cold tarmac floor. His heartbeat elevated, his breaths coming out in pants, signifying his pain and panic at the sight of a dark figure standing against a lighter darkness at the base of the alleyway.

When the figure moved forwards, Thomas flung out his hand and reached blindly behind him, scrambling frantically for something to support his useless body.

When nothing found its way to his grasp, the young vampire wanted nothing more than to call for help but there was no one left alive to offer compassion. It was then and there when Thomas finally came to the revelation that his survival was nothing more than a fool's dream.

Now the man stood over him, green eyes flashing dangerously. His personal judge, jury and executioner.

Dean could have just let him go. The inexperienced bloodsucking fledgling would never reach New Orleans by the time Hayley's venom engulfed his mind addled brain. But he couldn't leave it to chance. The vampire was a loose end which needed to be severed quickly and cleanly.

"Any last words?" he asked, his voice the temperature of ice.

"Who the fuck do you think you are!" Thomas snarled through his pain, wincing as every small movement sent an agonising jolt through his body. Trying to buy more time, at least enough to allow his healing ability to kick in.

The man raised the gun, poising it accurately at the vampire's heart. Poising it steadily, he responded, "I'm the hunter you hunters fear." It wasn't arrogant, nor was it said to deliberately inspire fear. The words were a statement of fact. "I'm Dean. Dean Winchester."

Thomas' heart stopped. Nausea turned his stomach. He was never going to heal. "Please," he begged, fighting the overwhelming urge to vomit. "Mercy."

Dean relished in that fear before he flexed his finger, sending a deafening bang echoing through the air.

Thomas' eyes, once alight and full of life, now reduced to nothing but blank and unseeing orbs. Orbs as dead as the body which bore them.

Watching the scene with detachment the hunter muttered, "I don't do mercy." Not to him. Not to anyone. Not anymore.

Thomas' head smacked to the floor and Dean smirked, pulling out a lighter. "Roast on that, bitch," he muttered before dropping the lighter onto the body which instantly caught aflame.

The hunter did not wait to watch the fiery tongues eat away at the flesh and he strode away, leaving a pile of burning corpses in his wake.

* * *

The green eyed hunter returned towards the parking lot, his gun hanging limply in his grasp. Glancing around, Hayley was nowhere to be found.

When he saw the male standing alone in the centre of the main carnage, surveying all the bodies Dean didn't think, just acted.

His arm shot up. All it took was the tiniest pressure on the trigger before the bullet soared through the air, coursing a lethal path towards its target. With only seconds to spare, the man was suddenly facing him with a speed he had never seen, his hand extended out, the bullet perfectly balanced between his thumb and forefinger.

Oak eyes glittered as he regarded the hunter with faint amusement. "You really think you can shoot me with that insipid little weapon? How quaint."

This one was going to be harder to gank and Dean wasn't one to back down from a challenge. Especially one which would fuel his adrenaline to new heights. His expression never once changed as he kept the gun aimed steady at the noble looking bloodsucker's heart.

His forefinger flexed against the trigger. The suited vampire watched him with mild curiosity.

"Dean _don't!_ "

Snapping his head to the left, his relief surmounted at the sight of Hayley, wrapped in nothing but a jacket. Alive and unhurt. When Dean saw the way she looked at this man and he her, his grip on the gun slackened before his arm lowered to his side.

So Freya had actually succeeded. The Mikaelson Family was once again walking the Earth. Maybe luck still existed after all.

"The two of you are acquainted?" Elijah assumed, tilting his head to the side as he regarded the two of them, attempting to decipher the exact nature of their relationship.

It was Dean who answered his question. "Unfortunately, can't get rid of her. Now if you don't mind, Hayls and I need a moment alone."

At Elijah's hesitance the hunter resisted the urge to roll his eyes. So he had a protective one to deal with. If Gracie was here and any of them dared to act in the same way around his baby sister, heads would have been flying.

"You can have her back," he stated. "Five years apart and you should have the restraint to last one more minute."

Without waiting for an answer, knowing that the original was ancient enough to lecture him on the importance of subordination, Dean dragged Hayley off to the side despite her protests which fell on deaf ears.

When they were a fair enough distance away to give some epitome of privacy, he spun on his heel to face her. Hayley stumbled to a halt, startled by his sudden movement but Dean ignored it. " _Him_?" he hissed.

Suffice to say, Hayley knew exactly what he meant. She had spoken highly of Elijah; the noble vampire who she called her lover. As far as first impressions had gone, neither man had been forthcoming with the other.

Avoiding any eye contact, she tried to hide her flushed cheeks as she muttered, "Look, he's always like that with people outside his family but he is a good man."

'Yeah I'll bet. A real charmer you got there," Dean deadpanned whilst eyeing the original vampire over his friend's shoulder.

His head tilted to the side as he began to examine the suit wearing original who, despite his shirt and tie which were torn and stained with blood, he still managed to carry off an air of supreme nobility. "Well he doesn't sparkle I'll give him that."

At his admission of approval, a sigh of relief escaped Hayley's lips.

He was just going to leave it there but the opportunity was too good to pass up and he added, "Although, there are plenty of other options out there. Chicks dig the sparkle these days."

"Maybe you need to find better taste in chicks then," a lilting feminine voice called out and Dean turned round to face the intruder who dared to eavesdrop. That was when he saw her.

"Rebekah," Elijah's voice rung out as he cautioned his sister but she ignored him. Never once did she break her gaze from Dean's as she raised one eyebrow, daring the hunter to contradict her.

And what kind of man would Dean Winchester be if he didn't oblige by her wishes?

"Are you offering sweetheart?" he asked with a faint grin, squashing the strange feeling down to the dark and tortured crevices of his mind.

"Do I look that desperate?" The blonde retorted with a smile, her hand on her hip which was cocked a little to the side. Dean couldn't help it. His eyes drifted down. All he could see was legs; long, long legs.

"Do you want me to answer that sister?" A new voice rang out and Kol Mikaelson poked his head round the tattered warehouse door. Blood was soaking through his faded grey shirt. He grinned suggestively at Rebekah whose smile faded to a scowl.

* * *

If fear wasn't her dominant emotion, if she was in any other type of circumstance, Keelin would have found Freya Mikaelson's determination to give it all for the sake of her family a turn on... but what she had witnessed tonight was near short of impossible and insane.

All she wanted to do now was get as far away from the Mikaelsons and that hunter as fast as possible.

Keelin focused back on the witch. Freya was kneeling on the floor, her elbows braced atop of a closed coffin with her fingertips steepled together. Not once did she acknowledge Keelin and not once did she make any move to release her.

Looking down at her remaining limbs secured to the chair, the curly haired wolf raised her voice and pleaded, "Let me go. I gave you people what you wanted."

"I barely had enough to make the anti-venom," Freya replied without turning to face her. Absentmindedly, the witch's hand closed over the glass vial filled with the white blue mist.

This time they had gotten off lucky but Freya didn't dare use it on her family again. It was too powerful and she had only used one single drop. Any more of it inside her siblings could prove to be catastrophic.

Now that she was no longer on the clock, the witch had time to find another way.

"If any of my family are ever bitten again, we'll need more. Which means we'll need you alive," Freya finished off, her tone straight to the point, refusing to care about the woman whose life had suddenly been torn from her hands. Turning around to finally face her, she ignored the broken expression and stated, her voice clipped, "Count yourself fortunate."

"We had a _deal_ ," Keelin pressed, not bothering to hide the desperation now as she yanked at her left wrist hard but there was no give.

She watched on helplessly as Freya strode toward her. "You had a deal with Hayley and her friend. Not me. You see, when it comes to my family's safety, I don't negotiate."

"Do you even have a clue who he is? That guy with Hayley? His name is Dean _Winchester_."

Keelin expected to see fear but she was surprised when all that looked back at her was a blank and uncaring face. "That name doesn't mean anything to me," Freya confessed, shaking her head.

"It should because that man out there makes up a third of the greatest hunters to ever walk the earth. They are even more feared than 'The Five'," Keelin persisted, begging for the witch to see sense.

In the back of the mind, she was beginning to question even her own sanity. Here she was, trying to convince her fierce captor that if she wasn't careful around Dean, she would end up dead. And this time, no magic would succeed in reviving her.

"If you want to live, don't _ever_ cross a Winchester," she desperately warned. "Their reputation for fighting till the death to protect their family is more profound than yours and it has cost them a hell of a lot more."

Freya considered the words thrown at her as thoughts whirled around in her head. The wolf said that Dean made up a third. If that was true then where were the other two? "I only see one Winchester," she mused, speaking her thoughts aloud.

As she thought back, Freya remembered the sadness and anger in the hunter's eyes. Hayley had showed up to rescue them with all her firepower. If this Dean Winchester's family fought to the death to protect one another, something terrible must have happened.

"Which means the other two must be dead," she realised, finally putting it all together.

Those words did nothing to soothe Keelin. If anything, it worried her more because if something had succeeded in taking down not one but _twoWinchesters_ then they should all be afraid. Nevertheless she kept her silence, knowing Freya would never be convinced.

"Why tell me this?" Freya's question broke Keelin out of her revelry and she met the jade eyes of the witch who stared back at her with an inquisitive tilt to her head.

Keelin felt herself being drawn in for a split second before she realised what she was doing and shook it off. Her admission came out strong and fear. "Because I might fear you but when it comes to him, I am _terrified_."

* * *

Once Hayley had changed into more suitable clothing, she went to find Elijah. The man was like a vision; his back facing her as he stared into the roaring fire in front of him. The sight made her pause. Everything felt so surreal, she couldn't even begin to comprehend.

She had dreamt of this moment for years. Even now, Hayley thought that in a few seconds she was going to wake up and still be on the endless pursuit of finding ways to bring him back to her.

 _'But this was real,'_ she reminded herself as she approached him. This time he wasn't going to vanish into a ghostly mist when she got too close. Stopping at his side, she gazed into the flames, feeling the heat from the embers caress her face. Then her senses picked up the putrid stenches of the burning corpses and her nose scrunched up.

"And they say romance is dead," Elijah commented, smiling as he noticed her discomfort.

"I'll take it," Hayley responded softly and needing confirmation, she reached out, her hand enclosing over Elijah's wrist. He pulled up the sleeve of his shirt, sensing what she wanted. When her gaze rested on the unblemished skin, she let out a breath. "Your infection's gone."

Their eyes locked. Hayley felt her mouth go dry at the way he looked at her. It was pure adoration. The last time he had given her that look seemed so long ago. She had pictured it in her mind so many times but her memories never could do it justice.

"You saved us," Elijah said gently as he roamed her face through pools of oak. "All of us."

Hayley wanted nothing more than to accept the gratitude, to be worthy of the way he saw her. But she couldn't. "It wasn't just me, you know?" she breathed, imploring him to see the truth despite his reservations.

A strange silence fell between them as Elijah's eyes flickered towards Dean who was lounging against a rock a fair few feet away, paying the two lovers no attention. Just sat there peering unseeingly into the flames. "The hunter," he assumed.

"You need to give him a chance Elijah. He did after all save your ass," Hayley responded quietly, and her eyes fell to the ground as she remembered what they had endured to get here. "Without him and his siblings, I wouldn't be standing here. We lost them but we gained you."

And somehow, for Hayley, that made the hurt a tiny bit more easier to bear. There would always be a tear in her heart where Grace and Sam had once been but one day that would heal into a scar and she would remember them with pride.

Her only hope was that Dean would someday be able to find a way to do the same.

"Dean is my _family,_ Elijah," she whispered. "He's _Hope's_ family. You have to respect that."

When she peered up at him, the original had his head tilted to the side as he regarded Dean with a new found sense of understanding. If there was anything Elijah Mikaelson could understand, it was the importance of family.

For the hunter to lose his when he had barely begun living was nothing short of a tragedy.

"Then I will give him the benefit of the doubt," he responded and when Hayley smiled he added softly, "For you."

"Elijah," Hayley started as she found herself once again lost in those dark orbs which made her feel so protected. _Cherished_. Her fingertips absentmindedly traced patterns on the skin where his bite had once been. "After all this time, I..." she broke off and shook her head, not knowing how to phrase what was in her thoughts and her heart.

She needed him to know that she hadn't moved on. That she could never move on from the connection they shared. Not now. Not _ever_.

He read her easily. He cupped her cheek and Hayley sighed as she leant into his touch. "Me, too," he whispered, his thumb lightly tracing the curve of her jawline before letting his hand fall back down to his side. "Now, please tell me," he paused and Hayley glanced up to see him deliberating. "How is my niece?"

Hayley couldn't help but laugh at his curiosity and worry. She understood that. With her family name, Hope bore a lot of enemies but little did Elijah know, her little girl would always be protected. Her innocence and cheerful nature had charmed so many powerful beings.

Hope had the Winchester family; the legendary hunters who inspired uncontrolled fear in anyone who wasn't human. Sam, Dean, Grace and Bobby; all of whom would have laid down their lives to keep her safe. She had Castiel; the angel who, until immersing himself in their lives, had never known what true emotions were.

Although none of them had heard from him since the apocalypse aftermath, call it instinct but Hayley knew that the angel was always around, looking out for them.

And now Hope had her remaining aunts and uncles; the original race of vampires who inspired fear and vengeance to anyone and everyone who tried to defy them.

"She's healthy. Happy. She's the perfect little girl," Hayley answered with a shrug, unable to contain a smile whenever her daughter was mentioned. "And she made me promise that one day she'd get her family back. _All_ of them."

And Hayley would do her best to keep that promise. Because it wasn't just her father who Hope yearned for.

"A child after my own heart," Elijah murmured. A Mikaelson through and through. Always and forever.

"Then there's just one person left," Hayley said, her happiness fading to a sense of strong determination.

Elijah turned back to stare at the flames and if Hayley had paid more attention, she would have seen irises turn pitch black at the thought of his younger brother. Niklaus Mikaelson had been suffering for too long. The pain he had endured, all in the name to preserve the lives of his family.

It was time for that suffering to end.

"Let's go get him."

* * *

From his sitting position, Dean watched Hayley and the older vamp converse. It was the first time he had seen her truly happy. His job was nearly finished. Only the task of reuniting Hope with her father remained. Once that was done he was leaving but he didn't expect it to hurt this much. It didn't matter. Not that anyone would notice but Dean was used to concealing his pain.

He would get behind the wheel of his baby and drive off, never looking back and then... and then... Dean blinked, the small action taking a lot more energy out of him than he realised.

Searching for a distraction, he turned his gaze towards the charring corpses; the rotten stenches of dying flesh burning the tiny hairs in his nostrils. Yet he didn't move away, his hands clasped in front of him as he stared into the flames; the ember light giving his forest green eyes an ethereal glow.

He didn't even move when he heard footsteps approaching him from behind. She moved lithely and lightly with a sense of grace and poise. It was a familiar type of movement, one which only another hunter could successfully pull off.

Her shoulder brushed against his as she elegantly lowered herself down onto the slab of rock beside him and despite the small flexing of his fingertips, the remaining Winchester showed no other obvious signs of a reaction to her close proximity.

For a while, neither of them spoke and Dean wasn't going to be the one who broke the silence.

It was times like these when he wondered what John Winchester would have thought. Would he be proud of him? If not proud, then at least understanding on the smallest scale?

Dean internally scoffed at that. His father had never been one to understand. ' _Like father like son,'_ he supposed. Both of them were the kill first and no questions later type of hunters, the only difference being that Dean had his siblings as a conscience. They had always been the ones to pull him back when he didn't think straight.

John on the other hand had hunted alone. The Winchester patriarch would have seen his son as a disgrace to the family legacy.

But Dean was the one still standing. John wasn't. A scornful smile was the only expression on his face as he mused. John wasn't alive, none of them were. Not anymore.

"You saved us." Her voice finally broke through the tense silence, jolting the hunter out of his bleak thoughts.

"It was nothing," he replied shortly with a shrug, fully intending on brushing off her gratitude like flicking a speck of dust into the air. Leave it at that but she didn't seem to be taking the fully conspicuous hint he was all but throwing in her direction.

"Are you really that egotistical as to not realise when someone is offering you an ounce of gratitude?" she exclaimed, her eyes boring into him, her face the perfect picture of disbelief.

"I just say it as it is, sweetheart," Dean replied and that was the truth. He shouldn't be the one they thanked because he didn't save anybody. Not really. He refused to be regarded as some type of hero. The ones who deserved that title were no longer standing.

Leaning back casually, the green eyed hunter finally gave in to the temptation and slowly turned to appraise the original which was Rebekah Mikaelson.

The woman was an icy perfection but something told him that there was something more to her than just the pretty leggy blonde exterior. And if he let himself go, gave in to his internal temptation, he would definitely be in trouble.

"Look," she persisted with an incredibly forced calm which had been perfected through over a thousand years of living. "My family hasn't said it yet. They can be selfish bastards the lot of them, myself included. I don't say this to anyone so... thank you."

Dean said nothing in return but his body felt a little bit more relaxed than before. He hardly noticed this time when her arm once again brushed lightly against his. The two of them just sat in a comfortable silence, both original vampire and hunter lost within their own thoughts.

As he moved his gaze back to the fire, a real smile crossed Dean Winchester's face as he revelled in the first real success he had accomplished in a very long time.

* * *

Darkness had fallen over the French Quarter of New Orleans when Marcel Gerard finally stepped out of the underground basement of the abattoir, smiling triumphantly.

The look on Klaus' face when he plunged the Tunde Blade back into his chest. The sense of helplessness in the hybrid's eyes as he crumpled to the floor in agony. The bastard deserved it after mouthing off.

What gave Klaus Mikaelson the _gall_ to imply that Marcel was still seeking out his sire's appraisal? He - the self-proclaimed king of New Orleans was not trying to prove himself to _Klaus_. Why would he? All the Mikaelson family ever did was leave behind a trail of death and destruction in their wake.

If anything, Marcel was glad that he no longer played a part in it.

That and seeing them bow to their knees, knowing that he had grown to be more powerful than them, the rush it gave him was unexplainable.

"Tell me... how did it _feel_?" A feminine voice rang out across the abattoir and Marcel instantly halted in his tracks. He scanned the room, looking for the source of the voice. "That _surge_ of _power_ coursing through you when you brought the _big bad hybrid_ to his knees. Did it make you feel _big_?"

From out of the shadows stepped a woman. A beautiful but completely ordinary woman. And yet, there was something about her which seemed oddly off as she placed a hand on her hip, tutting mockingly. "I mean, for all we know, he could be somebody's _father_."

A slither of guilt panged at his heart before he squashed it back down. He knew exactly what she was insinuating through her goading but he was not doing this to hurt Klaus' daughter.

"Listen, it's not like that alright," Marcel attempted to explain, to defend himself but the mention of Hope Mikaelson had knocked him right off track. He had ripped the kid's father away from her but he had done it for her own good. The girl would only be disappointed in the end.

Just like he was.

"Oh? Then tell me. What is it like?" The woman cocked her head to the side. It was a simple movement but for some strange internal reason it put Marcel on edge.

The girl was straight out human but her heart was unnaturally steady for someone who was in the presence of the most powerful creature on the planet. His gaze then met her smoky blue and the dark glint he found within made him _afraid_.

Because it was the look of someone who had gone past unhinged. There were no words for it. She was simply _dangerous_.

"Hey, is this part open to tourists?" A new voice rang out from behind. Marcel was about to call out, to tell the man to run but all he did was watch as a slow smirk spread across the girl's plump lips.

She twisted round to face the newcomer. Her arm shot out. The male staggered back; his shocked eyes staring incomprehensively at the hilt of the dagger protruding from his chest.

Marcel snapped out of his paralysis and was instantly by the male's side, biting into his wrist.

The woman continued on talking, completely unaffected by the man's screams of pain. "Just bruised the heart. One has to wonder though, was he someone's father? _Oh no_!" She gasped but there was no real emotion behind it as Marcel yanked the weapon out and forced his blood down the male's throat. "Imagine what his poor daughter would have felt if she found out her dad would never read her a bedtime story again."

Marcel sighed in relief as he heard the man's heartbeat strengthening. He rapidly snapped his attention back to the woman who was examining her nails and growled; his vampire face on full show as he made a move to stand but she suddenly had a gun in her hand which pointed in the direction of the unconscious male.

Her aim was perfectly poised as she chided, "Ah ah, don't try and attack me, I have so many other ways in which I can kill him. He'll turn into a vampire, lose control as the new ones inevitably do and kill his helpless little daughter. You even attempt to make one step towards me and this time, I guarantee that I _won't miss_."

Her face went blank. Marcel could tell she was absolutely serious but he just let out a laugh. "You would have to get past me first and I can't be killed."

"Well, you _are_ right _there_ ," the woman agreed before she tapped her foot against the floor and looked up towards the ceiling. "If I _only_ knew what place of the body to hit to knock a person unconscious." Her eyes snapped back to his and she smiled lethally. "Works either way, no matter whether you are a man... or a _beast_."

"What the hell do you want?" Marcel growled but the woman simply shrugged.

"Personally, I don't want anything. Just giving you a reality check." She crossed her arms her body tense as she spat out, "You may think you are an all-powerful stick-up-your-arse being but in reality, you are still caught in your own little emotional spiral. It's the same old story with you creatures. The whole acting out because _daddy didn't love you enough?_ It's _pathetic_. Deny it all you want but you know it's true. There is nothing more monstrous in this world than ripping apart a family."

Marcel refused to take her words in as watched the steady rise and fall of the man's chest. "Then what about what you nearly did?" he demanded.

"Me?" the girl exclaimed loudly before tossing her ash-brown hair back and letting out a loud, cold laugh. "Maybe a long time ago I used to get my kicks out of saving people but now? Why do that when no one ever expresses the tiniest bit of gratitude? All I got for my efforts was a constant stream of torture."

With that she started forwards, heading towards the exit. When she passed Marcel Gerard, she paused, looking down at the great beast of a vampire reduced to nothing but a slumped figure, cradling an unconscious human in the security of his arms.

"Have a nice night. _Hope_ that guilt doesn't eat you up when you sleep tonight. It most certainly won't with me."

With those final words she strode out of the abattoir, the clicking sound of her heels growing fainter and fainter.

All of a sudden there was a loud gasp as the man's eyes snapped open. His body lurched forwards as he breathed heavy panicking breaths. Marcel quickly sprang into action.

"Hey man, you're going to be okay." When the man met his eyes, Marcel's dilated. " _You were drunk. You do not remember coming to the abattoir or anything that happened after. All you know was that you had a good time."_

The man nodded and Marcel broke his gaze, his thoughts fixed on the woman. She was gone but in her tirade she had been careless.

His eyes strayed over to locate the glint of silver and reaching out, he clasped his fingers over the hilt of the dagger. As soon as he had the weapon in his hands, he paused. Every inch of the handle was perfectly smooth except for underneath his thumb.

He turned it around slowly and as he suspected, in the top left hand corner of the hilt was a small etching. Just two letters in cursive script.

 _G.W._

The next time he saw her, Marcel made a mental vow that he would kill her on the spot for threatening the people of his city. She was a threat and he would take her out. After all she was just a human. She stood no chance against him, the only man who had managed to best the almighty Klaus Mikaelson and his family.

How capable could she really be?

* * *

The elegant house situated within a forest of Tennessee was quiet. Nothing made a sound except the occasional hoot of an owl and the trees which creaked as they swayed gently in the warm night breeze. It was silent. Almost peaceful.

And then came the scream.

The scream of a frightened child who had shot out of bed, breathing hard and sweating profusely through her star-patterned pyjamas. She curled up into a ball, clutching her plush rabbit tightly within her arms and pressed her face down against its fur.

"Hope?" Mary's concerned voice sounded from downstairs.

Hope said nothing but her body automatically flinched when the lights turned on. Peeking upwards, she saw Mary standing by the entrance of her bedroom.

"Sweetie, are you okay?" the elderly woman asked tenderly and Hope paused before shaking her head.

"I had a bad dream," she whispered, desperate for comfort.

Mary instantly came forwards, her expression tender as she gathered the auburn haired girl up in her arms and lay back on the bed. "Oh darling it's alright," she soothed, gently rocking her back and forth. "You're safe. I'm not going anywhere."

Hope wanted to believe her, she wanted to so desperately but it had felt so real. As her ocean eyes swept her surroundings nervously, her stomach twisted, feeling suddenly nauseous when she figured out what was wrong with her room.

Nothing had been taken away, but something had been _added_. All across the end of her bed and on the floorboards, papers lay strewn, every single one depicting the same image.

The drawing of a serpent eating its own tail.

From within Mary's arms, Hope's eyes strayed towards them and her body trembled uncontrollably. She was frightened. She had no idea why she had drawn them or how. She didn't even remember creating them, when she attempted to think, her mind went blank.

Mary would never understand even if she tried to explain it. Hope closed her eyes, forcing herself to be strong... to be brave but it wasn't working.

She was scared and she wanted her mom. She wanted Dean. She wanted Grace and Sam back. Her protectors. The ones who had always succeeded in chasing away the monsters underneath her bed.

Opening her eyes, Hope held her breath as she stared out of the window, her heart pounding.

She wanted to know why the shining blue light from her nightmares, was now illuminating the forest around her house.

* * *

Meanwhile, many miles away from his daughter, within the city of New Orleans, Klaus Mikaelson writhed in agony.

His body jerked and twitched from the pain but nothing could alleviate it. He couldn't escape. He was for all intense and purposes, helpless in his own body, trapped by a boundary spell in the cellar of the abattoir.

The all-powerful hybrid had been bested by a former servant boy; the boy he had once loved as a son. Marcel Gerard.

His fingers scraped at his chest, at the source of the pain, where the Tunde blade lay embedded deep within his skin. It was physically unbearable but the psychological torture was even more so.

Klaus could do nothing but relive his worst memories, his darkest days when he had lost all hope. The times when he wished he could end it all.

They flashed through his head over and over in a continuous cycle of death and destruction.

Mikael's relentless abuse, the death of his youngest brother... his siblings turning their backs on him throughout the years, abandoning him in the dust for a much better life than he could provide. The lost time with his daughter…

Hope would be seven now. He never got to see his little girl grow up.

Klaus groaned, clenching his eyes tightly shut as he tried to force those memories back into the darkness where they belonged. He needed an anchor, even if she was just a hallucination.

"Camille? CAMILLE!"

He opened his eyes, expecting her to appear again like she had done every other time he needed her during his five years of mental torture.

But the figment which appeared before him was definitely _not_ Camille.

For the smallest moment, the torture seemed to disappear as he rested his cerulean eyes on the apparition; the figure of a woman who was glancing around, utterly confused and fearful.

Klaus raked his gaze over her hungrily. He hadn't eaten in weeks and he was famished. It would be such a profound shame to waste her life as he took her in.

From her ash-brown hair which cascaded down her back and seemed to float every time she moved, to her straight nose, to her plump bow shaped lips, the imprisoned hybrid had to admit... the creature before him was simply _exquisite_.

She didn't seem to be afraid of being in the presence of a monster which could end her life in a blink as she snapped out of her daze and began to walk lithely towards him. Klaus recognised her casual stance as meaning only one thing. She was here to torture him further.

His paranoia increasing dramatically, Klaus braced his hands against the hard stone floor, forcing himself up into a sitting position. He watched her warily, anticipating an attack but all she did was kneel down before him, her head bowed.

There was a brief pause before she slowly raised her head, smoky blue eyes peering up at him from beneath long velvet eyelashes.

Klaus cocked his head to the side in interest as their gazes locked. All thoughts of attacking her immediately disappeared. He didn't even realise the sudden absence of his pain as the two of them did nothing but stare.

"Well," she began quietly, breaking the intensity of the atmosphere circling round them as she sat down beside him. Klaus' cerulean eyes instinctively flashed gold at her close proximity. Not because he didn't want her there but because a primal part of him urged her to come closer. "I think we have both gathered by now that I am certainly not this Camille of yours."

She trailed off, pulling her bottom lip between her teeth and Klaus' dilated gaze followed her motion, lingering on that plump piece of flesh as she chewed it nervously.

"This is such a strange turn of events, don't you think?"

* * *

 **Hope you liked it! Updates are a little slow because of Uni but I am still managing! Let me know what you think :)**

 _ **Reviews**_

 _Dark-Supernatural-Angel:_ _The meet and greet begins - hope you liked it! Hayley and Dean's partnership is so fun to write, they just work well together in such a familial way. I love writing everyones reactions to the Winchester name, they deserve that bit of notice! With Freya's past with Dahlia, I doubt that she would have known but the rest of the Mikaelsons will be a different story ;)  
_ _LunaAndAsh:_ _Thank you and hope you like this one too!  
_ _LovelyDeadlyLie:_ _Thank you, it means so much!  
_ _KissedByShaddows24:_ _Hope you liked the initial meet and greet! And so Grace and Klaus begins... in a way ;)  
_ _lilnightmare17:_ _I'm so glad you liked it! Thank you for being so patient!  
_ _ItzIzziieMonsta:_ _Thank you! I'm so happy you liked the last chapter! This one... kinda ;)  
_ _Guest:_ _Hope you liked this one too!  
_ _happinessinthedarktimes:_ _Hope this chapter met your expectations! I'm so glad you love it, it makes the chapters so much easier to write!  
_ _Markosgirl69:_ _Thank you! Hope you liked this chapter too despite the cliffhanger :D  
_ _Guest 1:_ _It's finally here!  
_ _Guest:_ _Hope you liked it!  
_ _Thiltelles:_ _Thank you so much and I finally got the chance to update! Hope you liked it :)_


	9. We're All Mad Here

The irony was something to be appreciated. The sight of a killer running from a greater killer.

A long time ago he had been strong... powerful... feared. Now this nameless human found himself being pursued by something much higher on the food chain.

He had watched his fellow inmates fall to their deaths one by one, throats shredded by an incomprehensible blur. And now that same blur had set its sights on him.

It was after him. _Hunting him._

His legs burned as he pelted through the endless woods. Sweat poured in patches through his bloodied and tattered orange jumpsuit. He could neither see nor hear his pursuer but he knew it was following him.

Call it sixth sense or simply survivors instinct but he could feel the predator watching his increasing pants, his pointless stumbles caused by his screaming calves, buckling under the pressure of his frantic sprint to safety.

Yet no matter how hard the unnamed man tried, he still couldn't seem to escape the unending nightmare. The tiny hairs on the back of his neck were rising upwards into needle points, prickling at his skin; a forewarning of something dangerous to come.

And then he tripped. Like every victim in a horror movie.

During his entire life, he had never once been the victim. Now he knew how it felt. The paralysing fear which turned his body to stone. He had always preferred the thrill of the chase. He and his pursuer had that in common.

Unhooking his ankle out from underneath the unforgiving root, his sallow tinged fingernails scraped through the mud and he scrambled back to his feet.

The silent surroundings soon began to fill with a new sound. The sound of a taunting voice which rang in his ears, setting his nerve endings on edge as his blood turned bitter cold.

"I must admit I do love a good chase."

Pants turned into gasps. Muscles burned and seared in his haste to continue to run as fast as he was able. Away from the chilling sound which was quickly getting closer and closer.

"But I am quite famished, so..."

All he felt was the pressure of air around him before fingers curled tight around his neck, slamming him up against the hard bark of a large oak. Held firm against the solid surface, the man was finally able to cast a first look upon the face of his killer.

Not even his nightmares nor the dark twisted realms of his imagination could ever do the sight before him justice as he stared into the face of a demon with pitch black eyes. The literal personification of death looking straight back at him.

His life was now hanging by a breaking thread and no blackmail and certainly no threats were going to be enough to help him out of his situation this time.

Death was finally upon him and to many people it was a well-known fact that death could never be bargained with.

He didn't struggle when he felt the sharp canines pierce through his flesh. Instead he just screamed and stared. Stared straight over the shoulder of the monster to focus on a figure.

If he hadn't been concentrating on that particular spot, he may have missed her. She seemed to blend in so well with the dense forest trees in the distance. The figure of a woman with eyes the colour of a cold blue-grey.

She could have been an avenging angel or a ghost of one of his past kills, returning to the forefront of his memories with a vengeance. But there was still the miniscule chance that she was just as corporeal and as alive as he was.

He tried to call out to her but nothing escaped his raw throat except the remnants of unintelligible gurgles and gasps from his screams. Instead, he pleaded through a pale face of terror but she just looked back at him, her expression unchanging.

And then a slight curve began at the corner of her lips before she slunk back into the dense coverage of the trees.

The last thought which ever crossed his mind was that at least his death would be peaceful. Quick. Because he quickly realised that the woman over there bore a very familiar look in her eyes.

It was a look which reflected his; one of pure coldness and without emotion... a dark look in the depths of her pupils, beneath which no humanity could be found.

If she was the one who had found him, he would have been begging for death by the time she had finished with him. Knowing he had nothing left to lose now, he resumed his pitiful screams.

Too lost in his fear, the man had failed to realise that the monster had suddenly paused.

Teeth which dripped blood withdrew themselves from the raw flesh of his neck and the monster tilted its head to one side as if listening to something which the man couldn't hear. After a few seconds, the monster rolled his eyes, the dark playful gleam fading into a picture of utter boredom.

"Bloody Elijah," it muttered.

A final scream escaped the man's raw throat as his neck was snapped to the side with one sharp flick of a wrist. He fell limp into the demon's cold hands, his eyelids drooping closed.

* * *

Rebekah Mikaelson paced along the boundary of the woods, vaguely listening to the screams which reverberated through the forest as Kol chased down the remaining riff raff. The pitched sounds were continuous and never-ending. Colour her slightly impressed by the vocal range.

"Good lord that one has some lungs on him. He should have been an opera singer. Might have ended better for him actually."

She paused in her musings, letting her eyes roam her surroundings, from Elijah who was attending to his blood soaked fingers with a handkerchief, to her big sister who was chanting desperately as she tried to locate their brother.

And against all odds, Rebekah's eyes slid over to Hayley's friend.

Dean, his name was if she remembered correctly. She had to admit, Hayley's new friend was quite the looker. If she allowed him to, that man could give Marcel a run for his money, vying for her affections.

But the hunter's attention wasn't on her, his face set in hard stone and he seemed... almost _bored_ somehow.

Usually Rebekah could get a good read off a person just by looking but this man was different from the other humans. More unattached in terms of emotion. The only indication of his present feelings was through the movement of his forefinger which impatiently tapped the hilt of his gun.

Reverting her gaze to the multitude of corpses surrounding them, curtesy of her and her brothers' appetite for hunger after five years of slumber, she realised something had been on her mind for a while.

"Does this not bother you?" she questioned quietly but apart from the subtle stiffening of his shoulders, he gave nothing away. "The bodies? The blood?" she elaborated with a furrowed eyebrow. Most humans she knew would have vomited on the spot at the mere sight of a shredded corpse.

When she made no inclination to move away, Dean finally began to ponder her question.

Truth be told, it did irk him. The few years spent with Hayley wouldn't fully change the morals ingrained in his brain. But that irk he felt was now like a small itch instead of the cataclysmic explosion it used to be when he had previously faced down vamps.

Besides, it wasn't as if he had seen worse, hell, he had done worse.

"I'm here for Hope and Hayley," Dean answered gruffly, still not looking up at her, his stone eyes fixed firmly on his gun. "Frankly, I don't give a damn about what you all do."

"You're close with them?" Rebekah remarked and out of the corner of her eye, she noticed her older brother's head incline slightly to the left, suddenly paying an engrossed attention to their conservation. Dean chose not to reply. It wasn't really a question which was in need of an answer. "How did that one come about?" Rebekah pressed.

"I saved her life."

A snort to the hunter's left caused the side of his mouth to twitch as Hayley plonked herself down beside him. At a first hearing, it may have been a sound of derision but the hybrid's smile appeared completely genuine. "After you tried to end it," she reminded him.

"Can't blame me for my roots, Hayls," Dean stated, smirking at the sudden curious ears listening in on their conversation. "I would have killed you with a smile."

"Until my daughter interfered."

The mention of Hope caused the hunter to just shrug. The smirk vanished and his expression softened as he admitted without care for his words, "The kid's a damn good charmer." And although he would never say it out loud, Hope Mikaelson had softened his cracked icy heart.

Rebekah smiled at the hybrid's and the human's interaction. Now she could see it. Rebekah was no stranger to loss, she had suffered through it so many times, but even she had to reprimand herself in the fact that it had taken her longer to recognise the signs.

The relationship Dean and Hayley shared had grown stronger from the loss and the consequential perpetual loneliness. It wasn't romantic, nor was it platonic, it was almost... familial.

Rebekah could feel Elijah's dark gaze burning into them, listening intently in his silence. And now he would have realised it too. Seemed like her big brother had nothing to worry about when it came to who Hayley's heart truly lay with.

During her musings, Rebekah had failed to realise that the screams of Kol's repulsive victims had fizzled out but the blonde original knew her brother all too well. He was the one who struggled with his hunger the most out of all of them. That and he always loved the prospect of mental torture as he toyed with the ones he was about to kill.

She mentally counted down.

Three,

two,

one...

A new pitch much higher than the prior echoed through the air and Rebekah shook her head, exasperated. By now his tactics were boringly predictable. Kol had always been one to relish in the fear of his prey.

 _Make a spectacle of it,_ he had always said.

"Is this absolutely necessary?"

Rebekah raised an eyebrow and turned to face her older her sister, a hand on her jutted hip. "That depends. Do you want us at our full strength, or do you plan on rescuing Nik on your own?"

Freya paused and sent a deadpanned look into the forest. The witch entwined her hands together in front of her to quell her raising ire at the frequency of scream pitches reaching her ears as she stated with renewed patience, "Well, death rattles are distracting and I'm trying to break a cloaking spell."

"Kol, would you please!" Elijah called out through the forest. There was a brief silence before the sickening sound of a crack pierced the air. Nodding in approval, Elijah replied a little bit more calmly, "Thank you," and raised his handkerchief to continue to idly wipe the crusted blood from his chin as he addressed Freya. "You were saying."

Freya nodded in thanks and waited until Kol finally stepped out into the clearing of the dense forest. Blood stained his entire shirt but the Mikaelson witch paid the rusted crimson no notice and wasted no haste in filling her siblings in on what her magic had found.

"I can sense Klaus is still in New Orleans, most likely somewhere underground. I can't get a read on exactly where unless I am in the city itself."

"Yeah. That's gonna be a problem," Hayley explained from her place next to Dean. "I have contacts in New Orleans. As you can imagine, the place is crawling with vampires, all of whom hate all of us. Whatever we do, we need to do it _fast_."

She glanced back to Dean, who looked completely uninterested, but his fingers twitched around his gun. They both knew this was wasting time.

If Dean had his say, they would have already acted by now, diving in head first and not giving one damn about the planning. But he was sitting back, letting Klaus' family be the leaders of this operation.

Hayley respected him for that but she had to admit, she was so close to just taking him straight to New Orleans so they could sort out the situation themselves.

The hybrid mother's ears suddenly pricked up at Freya's words. "-I don't want to stay any longer than we have to. But we need to go."

Kol's head snapped towards Freya, raising a hand, mentally attempting to backtrack as he began to figure out what she was insinuating. "Wait, wait, we're not doing this _today_?"

Dean smirked. Sharp one, that vamp was. Now they were actually getting somewhere useful.

"Hasn't Nik suffered enough?" Rebekah asked, staring at her brother with something akin to disgust and disbelief.

"Yes and I've died. _Twice._ "

Dean rolled his eyes at that. Overdramatic was being added to the list. Twice was _nothing_. After a while, Grace and Sam had begun a tally, mentally recording down the number of times they had all died.

To this day, the green eyed hunter could never forget his siblings' expressions when they witnessed him die a total of 103 times from the trickster slash archangel Gabriel alone.

At Hayley's side glance and mouth twitch in his direction, Dean knew the hybrid mother could guess his train of thought and he sent her a smirk back as Kol argued, "I'm not about to give Marcel a shot at a third. Now, I say, we draw that Muppet out of town. And when he's gone..."

"I have been away from my daughter long enough," Hayley interrupted sharply before letting out a long sigh, clasping her hands together in front of her. "Look, if you're afraid then Dean and I will go alone."

"And how exactly is this measly scrap of a mortal going to be of any use to us in a city of vampires who want to chew through our bloody throats?" Kol retorted, sending a scathing look at the only human in the vicinity who was still breathing.

Dean just leaned back casually, no trace of fear in his eyes as he addressed Kol with a sense of boredom. "Well, you'd be surprised at what I can do."

"You really think you actually stand a chance against Marcel's vampires?" Freya questioned him with a detectable ounce of disbelief, refusing to believe that all this arrogance, the brash confidence all but emanating from this man had a rational explanation.

"Of course I do," Dean smirked back. This gig would be like riding a bike. He had ganked nests and alpha vamps but this lack of faith in him was getting aggravating fast. He couldn't hold it back any longer. "I'm a Winchester."

The silence which fell upon him was deafening and his ego swelled as he relished in the three faces of Elijah, Kol and Rebekah which had all paled a shade.

Dean knew that it was a dangerous move on his part in revealing his identity, the vamps before him were powerful ones but he would never get enough the massive boost of adrenaline at the mere recognition of his name. At what he stood for.

"I'll give you all, ah, some time to process," he suggested airily before getting to his feet and striding off towards the truck in search of salt. From now on, not even the original vampires would think twice in underestimating his capabilities.

Hayley watched as Dean left, shaking her head with a faint smile. As usual, the green eyed hunter had optimised his flair for the dramatics. He had stopped the apocalypse by barging in on an angel fight, sat casually behind the wheel of his Impala with Def Leppard blasting through the speakers after all.

"Well, well, isn't that _interesting_?" Kol finally commented, his head cocked curiously to the side as he regarded the hunter through narrowed eyes. In the past he had come across hunters. The ones he had met were fanatics, desperate in their goal to resurrect the immortal Silas.

But never had the identity of any hunter risen to the top of recognition as quickly as the Winchesters had done. The hunter family who had a reputation for never leaving a supernatural being still standing.

Whoever was stupid enough to cross their paths ended up dead. No one ever survived long enough to tell the tale.

Kol couldn't deny that the thought of trying to end them had intrigued him at one point but he wasn't that suicidal. Not until he found out exactly how this human's heart still managed to beat strong within his delicate chest.

"Nik's gonna have a field day," Rebekah muttered, her voice slightly strained as she watched the hunter's retreating back. The blonde original would be lying if she said that didn't worry her, just a little. He had helped Hayley save them after all. Dean did not deserve Nik's wrath.

"I should have recognised the signs. He bears the eyes of a warrior," Elijah muses, his tone sounded almost respectful, in full agreement with his younger sister.

Rising to his feet, he slipped a hand in his pocket thoughtfully before his face went blank and oak eyes suddenly pierced Hayley's. "When our brother discovers the kind of company you've been keeping," he cautioned, his voice trailing off, the implications of his statement clear.

"He will suck it up," Hayley replied simply, her voice clipped and fully undeterred by the words of warning, quickly putting an end to the discussion. She had made it clear time and time again that Klaus wasn't the only one who had a say in her daughter's upbringing. She wouldn't still be with Dean if she didn't trust him around Hope.

Maybe she was cautious at first but Hope had been drawn to the Winchesters like a moth to a flame. And now nothing would ever separate both mother and daughter from them. Dean was family.

Klaus was just going to have to swallow down his egocentric pride and accept that fact.

Dark eyes drifting over to her hunter friend, Hayley sprang into action, swiping up an additional tub of salt from the truck when she realised his intentions. The hybrid then quickly followed after him, quickly unscrewing the top off the container as she went.

The two of them had left the four siblings standing in a brief silence until Freya finally admitted, "I don't understand."

And she didn't. For her imprisonment with Dahlia had kept her in the dark. The isolation had blinded her to the knowledge of the supernatural community surrounding her. Keelin's warnings, the wariness which was literally emitting off her siblings' skins, she needed to understand everything.

She needed answers as to why a simple human hunter should be _this_ feared.

The Mikaelson siblings all turned to face their eldest sister. "Nik has wanted nothing more than to end the Winchester family for years but he has never been able to track them down," Rebekah explained and when Freya froze, she added, "I suppose that says it all."

"It is of no matter," Elijah finally proclaimed and his siblings fell silent, listening to him as he uttered, "We have more pressing issues and if this Dean Winchester lives up to his startling reputation, he may be of some use to us." Oak eyes flitted carefully from Freya, to Rebekah and finally to Kol. "We free Niklaus today. Even if I have to burn that city to the ground," he concluded darkly.

A plan had formed. The Mikaelson family was returning once more to New Orleans and by the day's end, Klaus would be free or all of them would be dead. No second chances this time.

Three faces of determination met his gaze, understanding the risk and Elijah nodded shortly before his attention subtly drifted over towards the hunter and his lover who were participating in a conversation he was unable to comprehend.

"That enough?" Hayley asked as she stood back, observing the body as she screwed the cap back on the tub.

"You're becoming a pro," Dean replied, not bothering to conceal his admiration. At Hayley's grin it took him back through memories buried deep.

The first time Gracie had ever done it, the body looked snowed on. He and Sammy had been in fits of laughter for weeks much to her aggravation. The two brothers had then spent three additional weeks outcompeting each other as they begged on their knees for their sister's forgiveness.

"What are you two doing?"

Her voice brought Dean whirling back to the present, glistening green eyes hardening as his sombre mood returned. "Burning the bodies, the last thing we need is a pissed off spirit of a psycho killer gunning for our arses," he replied to Rebekah and threw the lighter down, igniting the rotting corpses.

* * *

She had been watching them from within the shadows. Blue grey eyes the size of slits. Her fingers curled tight over the weapon in her hand as she scraped the sharp end slowly down the length of the bark.

There was movement. She wasn't alone. Well, wasn't that sloppy of them? Too engrossed in all their arguments and revelations and plannings that they didn't even realise they had left one remaining survivor and a crafty one at that.

He had managed to hide himself well if he was able to go undetected. Lucky for him and lucky for her. Because now the real game was about to begin.

The survivor burst into her line of vision before stumbling to a halt. The two of them just stared each other down and when the male's eyes darkened with a manic gleam, she took off into the trees, portraying the part of a poor and helpless female.

Like a fish, the temptation was just too hard to resist. He took the bait.

 _'Didn't they ever learn never to go into the woods alone?'_ she idly wondered to herself. He had been caught once for his crimes after all. Imprisonment was his second chance to live out his life. Now he wasn't going to get a third. Death wouldn't be _that_ kind to him.

Especially when she was the one who would deliver the killing blow.

"Your trapped out here with me little girl," she could hear him puff. She could imagine the disgusting beads of sweat erupting out of the pores on his forehead. His words were probably meant to scare her but it did absolutely nothing. All it did spur her on. It made the fate of his future that much sweeter.

"Actually that's where you are wrong," she called out clearly, coldly. Never once did she break a sweat as she slowed to a halt and lithely pressed herself to the back of a tree, her movements as silent as the grave as she simply waited.

A dagger absentmindedly twirled around and around in her hands. "The woods are my expertise. I'm not trapped out here with you, _you're_ trapped out here with _me_." He was in her territory now. And he was _trespassing_.

"The demons of the night have gone now. Leaving you all alone. And you're gonna end up like all the rest and I'm going to enjoy every second," he yelled.

Her lips tilted up. He was near now and her ingrained instincts were kicking in. The rustle of leaves, the cracking of a twig, the thudding of a shoe as it met the solid ground. She listened to it all. She knew exactly how far away he was. Within throwing distance, she would hazard a guess.

"I'll make you scream for mercy before I slit your pretty little throat."

Her eyes rolled up briefly before she thrust right arm out, jerking her wrist back and sending her dagger flying. Only when she heard the grunt which followed, did she finally make her appearance.

"Oh look how the tables have turned," she exclaimed in mock shock as his hands scrambled for the blade embedded so perfectly in his skin. "But your throat ain't that pretty."

Not bothering to remove the blade, she thrust he hands out, palms meeting his back as she forced him to the ground. He was already dead before he even hit the grass. Rolling her eyes, she removed a lighter from her jeans pocket and with a flick down and a toss, the body was set ablaze.

She walked away, leaving him to char. Her heartbeat never once quickened.

* * *

What kind of trickery is this?" Klaus Mikaelson demanded with every intent and purpose to put this tormentrix on edge. A tormentrix who had managed to cross the barrier spell containing him within his prison without so much as a blink of an eye.

But his furious commands did nothing as she just stared back at him. Unimpressed and unphased by the deep rage of a paranoid man.

Instead she just sank to the ground beside him, completely impervious to the threat he posed and crossed her legs, resting her arms limply on top of her knees. "You tell me, this is your hallucination." Head craned to the side, her brows furrowed as blue grey eyes surveyed him curiously. "Or maybe it's mine. You do look _awfully_ familiar."

He ignored her musings, replacing them with his own. If this was some other form of his clawing madness from deep within the recesses of his mind, he would crush it to dust just like all the other terrors he had been subjected to. "Or maybe you're some past demon conjured up to haunt me? I will not fall privy to Marcel's games."

"You know, you really need to re-acquaint yourself with the definition of a demon," the woman stated offhandedly before placing her hand dramatically to her chest. "Calling me one. Kind of _insulting_. It hurt. I'm _really_ hurt."

"Listen to me _very carefully_ , sweetheart," he growled lowly and she looked at him, all traces of mocking gone as she gave him her full focus.

His wolf liked that. Her undivided attention placed solely on him and no other.

"If you do not put an end to your little mind games, I will not hesitate in squeezing the life from your pretty throat."

He expected her to tremble in her boots at the threat coming from him: the original hybrid. To fall to her knees like the rest of his past foes and beg him for mercy but with her, he found himself all too willing to provide it. The others were never as fortunate.

His words however had a less than desired effect.

"You think I'm pretty?"

She grinned and Klaus let out a low snarl. Five seconds this apparition had appeared to him and within those five seconds he had already passed his judgement. She was _infuriating_. And yet he hung on to every word which fell from her delectable lips.

She was simply fascinating. _Enrapturing_. He wanted more. He _craved_ more.

* * *

Joshua Rosza crossed the expanse of his loft, grabbing his leather jacket from atop of the football table where it had been hastily discarded the night before. He smiled as he put it on.

In five years, never had he been this happy. An awkward guy such as himself had managed to land the perfect boyfriend.

Even if said boyfriend didn't know that this awkward guy was actually an awkward immortal vampire but they would get to that part. Eventually. When he managed to pluck up the courage.

Which would probably be never.

The approaching footsteps alerted Josh before he felt a warm hand close over his. Ever so slowly, he felt his jacket slide off his shoulders, causing a laugh to escape his lips. "Hey, I erm, have to go," he insisted with a smile as he turned to face his boyfriend.

"No, you don't. You own the place," Eddie insisted and Josh's confidence almost faltered then and there. Because this one guy in front of him had become his immortal kryptonite. Eddie had no idea of the power which he wielded over him.

"Yeah. Exactly. Which means that I have... managerial obligations," Josh managed to stutter out as Eddie stepped forwards.

"Maybe you're doing some managerial things here," he whispered. Obsidian eyes glittering, he closed the distance between them and covered Josh's mouth with a kiss.

Josh sighed and finally gave in. If this was the way he would wake up every morning, he would never want to leave. And he was almost tempted to stay. To continue what they had started last night.

And then he heard it: a sound which caused him to pause. The sound of a quiet creaking floorboard. He and Eddie were no longer alone; the two of them were being witnessed by something much more sinister because no normal human would have remained undetected by his vampire hearing for this long.

Groaning to himself, Josh pulled back and turned his head to the left listening. The last thing he needed was his boyfriend in the middle of this. Becoming yet another collateral in the world of vampires. He refused to let Eddie become Aiden.

Eddie must have noticed his pause and Josh turned back to him. The young vampire's stomach turned, signifying his panic but he blinked quickly, forcing it down when he noticed his boyfriend's concern.

"Sorry. I... just remembered. I have a shipment of, uh... stuff coming in." He laughed quietly to himself as he forced his jacket back on and stepped forwards, backing his boyfriend to the door. "Plus I... I also have to go to the bank and get change. You know, dimes, nickels, pennies. I mean, can't anyone just use a credit card anymore?"

Eddie opened his mouth to speak but Josh quickly placed his hands on his shoulders, pushing him out into the hallway before retreating back inside his loft.

"Um... I will text you. Okay? I promise," the vampire muttered. He winced as he slid the door quickly closed; shutting out Eddie's shocked and slightly confused face. Yeah he would have some serious explaining and major grovelling to do afterwards _._

"Well that was subtle," a low and gruff voice sounded out, causing Josh to wince once more. He didn't need reminders of his totally overboard way of handling situations. Particularly ones which put him under pressure. Like this one right here.

Popping up his collar slightly, just to give the outward appearance of someone who was not about to piss his pants, Josh finally turned to face his intruders. It came as no surprise to see Rebekah and Elijah Mikaelson descending his stairs. The male following behind them came as a shock though. Especially since this one was completely human. And yet he did not sense him fully till now.

"Well, thanks for waiting and not just, you know, killing him," Josh rapidly said before his gaze drifted back to the unknown male, in particular the gun clutched in his grasp. Swallowing hard, he quickly added, "and ah not shooting me because apparently that's a thing now."

"We're only monsters by necessity, Joshua," Elijah explained in that all too blaze tone as he slipped a hand into his pocket and approached the younger man.

"Besides, we just ate," Rebekah added as the two originals came to a halt side by side.

Josh let out a small regretful smile which was not genuine. He knew it was probably wrong to be sarcastic in front of two beings which could kill him with a snap of their fingers but they had already ruined his day so he didn't care. "Oh, that's too bad. I was gonna offer you some welcome back waffles."

"I'll take a burger, extra bacon, make it juicy," the gruff male announced and Josh stared at him. Watching gobsmacked as the human strode around his home as if it were his own. "On second thought," he backtracked as he swung open the fridge and swiped out a beer with a sense of accomplishment. " _Bingo_."

Josh shuck himself out of his stupor. "Hey that's mine... you know what, never mind," he rapidly changed his mind at the goose bumps which rose up on his skin when the human looked at him. Turning back to the original's he asked "Who is this guy anyway?"

"Someone you don't want to mess with pal so start talkin'," the male demanded, taking a long swig of the beer.

A sense of unease began to slither down Josh's spine and holding that feeling close he quickly raised his hands in surrender much to Rebekah's and Elijah's amusement. "Okay. Look, just... tell me what you want and let's get this over with."

* * *

"So what did you do?"

Klaus wearily forced his head up at her question, silently enquiring her to elaborate and she did not disappoint.

"This _Marcel_ you were talking about? You accused me of being a part of his messed up plan. What did you do to him? Piss in his morning blood bag?" She trailed off in amused thought, tapping her forefinger deliberately slowly against her chin before her eyes widened comically. "Oh wait, did you push him over in the school yard?"

"What makes you think I did anything?" Klaus muttered, crossing his wrists over his knees

The woman just shook her head as she responded, "Oh I don't, but you must have done something. Why else would you be playing the part of a ' _woe is me'_ martyr?"

"If it hasn't escaped your rapt notice love, I am stuck here." For emphasis, the hybrid raised his arms, hearing the rattling of the chains which shackled his wrists and neck before lowering them again to rest upon his knees. His gaze fell to seek out the place where the pain should be causing his mind to tear itself inside out again by now. "So your assumption of my apparent martyrdom is unjustified."

She followed his line of vision before hesitantly stepping forwards. Crouching down, she extended her arm, her hand hovering almost shakily over his chest.

"That looks painful," she murmured softly before her eyes glazed over, as if something had taken her somewhere far away from here. "I can relate."

She _could_ couldn't she? He could see it in her face as clear as day. The torment which reflected itself underneath the forced glimmer of her orbs like an oncoming darkness attempting to snuff out the remaining light.

He found himself stifling a growl, his insides itching to tear the cause of her agony apart, just so he could see that light once more. And yet, he couldn't help but realise that here she was, ignoring that part of her which was causing her pain and placing all of her focus, all of her concern on his torment instead.

He didn't want her to feel selfless in that way. Not for someone like him. The monster that lurked in the shadows of children's fairy-tales. He was not a man deserving of her compassion.

In the end, he supposed they were simply two souls brought together through shared suffering. The hybrid found it oddly quaint.

"It's gone," he finally replied honestly. At least the pain was for now. He wasn't foolish enough to believe that it had vanished altogether. His body was still weak, reminding him of his entrapment, deep beneath the Abattoir, within these tunnel walls which ran the length of the city. "I can endure."

"I know you can. You're strong," she responded and Klaus almost started at the sheer amount of confidence which radiated from her statement.

But then she paused, glancing down at her hand which was still placed a millimetre away from his chest and murmured, "I was strong too. At least... I _think_ I was." Her brows furrowed as she leapt to her feet and began to agitatedly pace. "It's strange - I don't know how to explain it. It's like I am here but I am not, not fully. Only a part of me."

She felt... almost _disjointed_.

"The insolent part," Klaus muttered back, intently watching her every move with amusement as he observed her thoughts flitting from one place to another.

She spun on her heel and sent him a wide smile. "Don't tell me you are not enjoying this banter."

Truth be told, he actually was. This unknown entity, whatever she was, had managed to break him away from his cascade of memories. His torment. His paranoia. It was like breathing fresh air after spending so many years drowning.

She would never discover the full effect she had on him though as he rasped, "Ahh sweetheart, I would beg to differ. You might have to try a little bit more harder than that."

A small laugh escaped her lips at his subtle persuasions before she swiped her tongue quickly over her bottom lip which had suddenly turned bone dry. She peered back at him and Klaus' ocean eyes darkened.

He was no stranger to the beauty of women but his past lovers all paled in comparison. For this one was quite the sight to behold. A glimmer of gold rose up to paint around the edge of his irises.

His wolf was stirring and now both man and beast were paying close attention to her forthcoming reply.

"You know, all this is probably you just flirting with yourself. Or do you just get off by conjuring up females in your own time. If I'm the exception, I'm flattered but a bit arrogant of you, don't you think?" She arched an eyebrow at him, almost daring him to contradict.

She had managed to throw him in through a loop once more. That was definitely _not_ what he was expecting her reply to be. The gold within his eyes was rising at the sight of this little enigma who had managed to keep him on his toes, surpassed where so many others had failed. He found that intriguing.

And now he needed some sort of distraction; a change in topic which would end up being of some benefit to him. It would further allow him to keep a tight grasp on his restraint.

"What is your name?" His hand shot out towards her wrist, but his fingers just closed over air. Her form flickered in and out of focus for a fraction of a second and he immediately retracted his arm. The fear that she would disappear from sight managed to amplify his restraint as he demanded, " _Tell me_."

"Why does it matter?" the woman wondered.

"Call it curiosity." At her hesitance, he cajoled very softly, encouraging his suddenly skittish prey, "I always get what I want, love, so let's just skip to the end of this little deflection of yours, shall we?"

"Not this time," she answered, swallowing hard and leaning back against the wall opposite him.

That movement put the hybrid on edge, his body tense. She was way too far from his reach.

A pensive sadness attached itself to her form as she sagged back against the brick support, letting out a long sigh as she whispered almost too quiet for his senses to hear, "Because we both know this is all a fantasy. Some cocked up version of a delusion that you or I have made up. Who knows, maybe we've both descended into madness with no way of returning to sanity."

Klaus watched her silently as she blinked twice to clear her watering eyes. Once he would have deemed that as a momentary weakness but all he saw now was a woman so desperately in need of comfort whilst trying to remain strong. It was admirable.

He hung onto every word as she finished quietly, "If I tell you my name that would make this more real. I prefer you as a stranger. Makes it all a little bit more bearable."

Klaus stared at her; all the while his body was clawing against the magic of the blade, wanting nothing more than to close the expanse of area between them. What he would do to her when he reached her... well... he had not yet decided on which course of action to take just yet.

And then she exhaled and the moment was broken. She smiled a much brighter smile, vanishing away all the sadness from before. As if the emotion had never exist from the start as she added almost cheerfully, "And because at the end of the day, out of the two of us, you're gonna be the one who will get out of this excruciating ordeal."

Klaus lolled his head back, allowing his eyelids to close. "My family was destroyed, love," he explained quietly. There was nothing left which sounded appealing enough to make the concept of getting out of this mess feel like a victory.

"And yet they're coming for you, can't you feel it?" the woman questioned, shrugging herself off the wall, her hands clasped in front of her, vibrating with anticipation. " _Concentrate_ ," she commanded and Klaus found himself automatically following her words.

It didn't take him long to find it. The link was gone. The bond which tied his siblings' lives to his life-force was gone. Freya's spell was broken. His siblings were awake. _Alive_.

Astounded by the revelation, Klaus' eyes snapped open to meet hers as he managed to utter one word. "How?"

"Because that's what family does," the dark haired woman replied simply, taking one step towards him. "No how matter how broken or destroyed you get, you always find a way to make it back to each other somehow. That's the only way people like us can mend."

She sounded like she was talking from experience but Klaus' curiosity was overwhelmed by a sudden surge of fear.

"If they come for me, they will be caught. Marcel will kill Elijah," he whispered, his hands clutching his kneecaps. It was hopeless to believe for a fraction of a second that he and his family were circling victory.

But her next words caused his head to snap up once more.

Her arms crossed over each other as she regarded him but her whole face was alight with knowing, hiding a secret which only time itself would reveal. "Oh, I wouldn't bet on that."

* * *

 **Sorry it took so long, assignments have been rough but I worked on this all weekend to get it to you all! Hope you liked it :)  
**

 **Small peek into next chapter: Dean and Hayley confront Marcel. Klaus discovers something unsettling about his mystery girl. It's probably going to be quite a long chapter!  
**

 **Until next time! As always, please review!**


	10. They Would be Proud

Josh's heart was pounding as he slowly pulled back the freezer unit which lead down into the tunnels. How did he manage to find himself caught up in these situations again?

Here he was in the establishment which he owned, playing Original vampire errand boy after kicking out every single one of his customers.

After his job was done, he would be able to do nothing except cower in a corner like the newbie vamp he was and pray that they would still have some use for him. Otherwise he was about to become deader than he already was.

Whilst Josh worked, The Mikaelsons were grouped together waiting, fully conscious of the time they were wasting.

"Are you absolutely certain we're looking in the right place?" Kol reiterated once more, his body tense and tinged with worry and aggravation as he scrutinised the empty bar. He didn't want to be inside this worthless city any more than he had to be.

Although this was for Nik, the plan was foolish. They were running in blind and he didn't want to be risking his neck if all they ended up reaching was a dead end. Especially when Marcel was running around the French Quarter with teeth which could tear out their bloody throats.

He wasn't that interested in dying... again.

"We know this tunnel runs the length of the city," Freya assured him as she paced, the heels of her shoes clicking against the wooden floorboards. "Marcel must've carved out a section to serve as his personal dungeon."

"Ingenious _and_ sadistic," Elijah commented, unable to conceal his astonishment at how far the vampire who they once rescued from a life of slavery as a young boy had fallen. _Although Marcel's actions seemed astoundingly like something Niklaus would do_ , he mused to himself as he casually slipped his hand into his suit pocket. "Well done, Marcel."

"Save the compliments for when he comes to kill us. Your flattery might give him pause," Kol retorted.

The two brothers stared daggers at each other and twitching at the tension which he had returned to, Josh clapped his clammy hands together. His undead heart lurched painfully when they all whipped round to stare at him.

 _He was dead, he was so dead._

Trying to calm his jittering nerves, the young vampire let out a long whistle of breath. "Okay, you're all set here. So, uh, good luck, break a leg, and I'll just be on my way." He quickly made his way to leave but jumped back at the original suddenly block his way. "Erm, hey."

Kol's deadly expression never once changed as he hissed, "You think I am going to let you rat us out to Marcel? _Not bloody likely_." He began to stalk forwards, causing a trembling Josh to stumble back a step with every single stride.

"Oh, just snap his neck. We'll be done by the time he wakes, "Freya said as she made haste towards the tunnel entrance. Klaus had to be down there. " _We're coming for you brother,"_ she murmured to herself.

Elijah lingered back, still scrutinising Josh from head to toe, weighing up the potential threat to their plans as he replied to his older sister, "And if he wakes before that?" he enquired.

"Then kill him," Kol responded simply, and crossed his arms, eager for an opportunity to quell his thirst for bloodshed.

Josh watched them decide his fate with widened eyes. "I'm right here, guys," he reminded them as he awkwardly shifted his weight from one foot to the other. This was sooo not his day.

Hayley regarded Josh and sighed. The young vampire had been dragged into a fight which he had not part in. "We're not killing him," she stated before turning to follow Freya, deeming the conversation over.

"Yeah, you're probably right. For some reason, he's of value to Marcel," Elijah mused before turning to face Kol with a half-smile on his face. "Kol, would you?"

"Happy to stay and have a drink and eviscerate anyone who tries to follow you," Kol finished as he flung himself into a bar seat. He smiled a deadly smile at Josh who gulped.

"Good, then let's go. We're wasting time," Freya from called across the room.

"Splendid," Elijah commented, joining her and Hayley before pausing. Oak eyes scanned the empty bar, starting at the unnoticed absence. "Where's the hunter?" he enquired, still attempting to comprehend how he had missed this one small detail.

Hayley was the only one within the room who was completely unsurprised at Dean Winchester's untimely disappearance. To be quite frank she was stunned that it had taken the Mikaelsons this long to notice.

When the atmosphere suddenly became tense at the lack of answers, she just crossed her arms, rolled her eyes fondly and answered, "Dean is doing what he always does."

She didn't elaborate any further and although there was a sense of irritation, the Mikaelson's trusted her. And she trusted Dean which would be good enough for now. As she entered into the tunnel, she couldn't help but smile.

Despite losing Grace and Sam, Dean had never changed. After all, he descended from a line of people who had hunting in their blood and until the end of his days, he would continue to follow and honour the legacy which the Winchester family stood for.

Saving people...hunting things... the family business.

* * *

Rebekah Mikaelson was a damn fool to ever believe that there was any kind of mercy left within him. As she stood in the Middle of Lafayette cemetery warily eyeing Marcel Gerard, she found it was like looking into the eyes of a stranger.

A man propelled by betrayal and anger who showed not a single slither of remorse at the hell which he had forced upon her family. He was a mere shadow of the man he once was.

Maybe that made this whole ordeal a little bit easier. Because if he had truly loved her as much as she had loved him, he would have already granted her Nik's freedom.

But he hadn't and so it had come to this; the two of them standing on opposite sides of a battle ground. Her fingers tightened over the stake in her hand; the stake which Marcel was now warily contemplating.

"What? So this is why you brought me here, huh? So you could stake me?" he demanded with a low disbelieving chuckle.

"I don't want to, but I will if I have to," she warned him, her posture straight and her head high in an attempt to flaunt her determination. To prove to him that she was not the tiniest bit afraid but despite her bravery, Nik's perception of her still lay in the back of her mind from so long ago.

 _Laugh at the girl who loved too easily._

Those were the final words she had said to her brother before he had daggered her with the help of Stefan Salvatore; yet another man she had once loved... another man who had betrayed her.

Maybe Nik had it right all along.

She couldn't reason with Marcel no matter how hard she tried and if the very same stake which cursed her was the only way to stop him from coming after them, then she would use it without regret.

If this was the only option left to save her family, save her brother then she would do it in a heartbeat.

And it was right then in that moment, when she finally came to the revelation. Marcel Gerard would _never_ give up on his revenge. He wouldn't even give up his city for her. The two of them just kept repeating the same mistakes as centuries past and it was finally time for her cycle of heartbreak and betrayal to end.

And so she squared her shoulders and hissed, "You had every chance to do the right thing."

Marcel just scoffed. "The right thing? The right thing according to who? You? Or your family?"

When Rebekah hesitated to reply he started to rapidly put two and two together. Did she honestly think that he was that stupid? Dense enough to fall for her distractions?

"This isn't about you and me at all, is it? This is about Klaus. Elijah and the others are on their way to rescue him right now, right? And your job is to, what, hmm? Keep me here, no matter what?"

He didn't bother waiting for her response. He already had all the answers figured out.

Shaking his head, he coldly stated, "Let it go. All right? It's over."

"It will _never_ be over," Rebekah snarled back, bringing together all her betrayal, her hurt and her anger as she raised the stake, readying herself for her attack. "You will never know peace, not a day in your life, so long as you hold my brother captive. We will stop at _nothing_..."

She suddenly cut herself off with a gasp as white hot pain flared through her lower back.

Craning her neck, she stared uncomprehendingly at the sight of the blood which was rapidly saturating through her jacket. She swayed unsteadily and her body greyed before she fell to the ground hard, eyes closing as she surrendered to her temporary death.

Marcel's gaze swept over Rebekah's desiccating body, to the two arrows protruding out of her back before finally resting on the perpetrator. His lover: Sofya Voronova.

He grinned as she reached over her shoulder, swiped another arrow out from inside the quiver and plunged it hard into the blonde original's unresponsive back.

She relished at the sound of cracking bone which followed. "Sorry to interrupt. Though, in fairness, she does talk a lot," she said with a grimace at the slowly desiccating body before looking up at Marcel and enquiring, "Should I drop her in the Gulf?"

"Nobody lays a finger on her. Keep her here," Marcel warned. He would personally deal with Rebekah later. He sped off, rage bubbling inside him and ready to explode out like an inferno. It was time to rid New Orleans of the Mikaelson family once and for all.

Sofya watched him flash away, smiling triumphantly at the turn of events. Even if the Mikaelsons did manage to thwart Marcel which she highly doubted, they would now still be leaving the city with one sibling down.

Once her lover came back to deal with the blonde wench, there would be no spell or magic potion which would wake her up this time. And besides, she had a whole group of vampire mercenaries on standby, waiting for her signal and it was time for them to play guard dogs in case the other siblings came looking.

She shot the original one last look before speeding off to recruit. It wasn't as if the body was going anywhere.

In the midst of all her internal relishing in successfully taking down an original, Sofya never once realised the whole conversation between her and Marcel had been observed through narrowed green eyes.

The intruder had waited for her to speed way out of range before he sprung out from his cover of a gravestone and strode towards the unresponsive figure. He sank into a crouch beside her and his fingers closed around the two arrows skewering her greyed body, removing them with one strong yank.

"Welcome back, sweetheart," he muttered as the veins subsided back into Rebekah's skin.

The blonde original groaned, feeling her skin slowly begin to knit itself back together. "Could have come sooner, that bloody hurt." Her eyes then fluttered open and her cheeks automatically littered red at the sight of disapproval which met her.

"And how exactly were you planning to take down the mighty vamp?" Dean questioned with a raised eyebrow before reluctantly holding out a hand.

"Well I was hoping you would help a woman out," Rebekah responded breathlessly before taking the hand offered and allowing the hunter to pull her to her feet. "Seems like I was right," she finished with a smile.

A faint sound suddenly caught her off guard and dragging her gaze away from Dean's demanding green irises, she tucked a lock of blonde hair behind her ear. She closed her eyes as she listened for a moment before they immediately snapped back open. "We've got company," she warned.

Dean had to give 'em props, they just kept on comin'. "Ah hell," he muttered, pulling out his gun and swiftly flicking off the safety.

"Look what we have here boys," an overly egotistical male exclaimed as he rounded the corner to face them. He revelled in the jeers from the fifteen or so other vampires which spurred him on. "We could get a pretty penny for Rebekah Mikaelson."

"Well here she is," Dean announced before aiming his gun at the approaching vamp with a deadly grin spreading across his lips. Rebekah leaned forwards into a crouch beside him.

The little suckers would never know what hit them.

"Bring it, Twilight."

* * *

Klaus Mikaelson was curled up on the ground, his form ever so slightly shaking from frequent sharp spasms. Although he could no longer feel the agony from the vile weapon buried beneath his skin, his body was still responding.

Reminding him that despite everything, his mind was still trapped inside his own body.

"Can't you just... you know... pull it out?"

Klaus rolled his eyes before looking shrewdly to the left of his underground prison to where her voice had come from. She was leaning against the wall, her head lolling up to face the ceiling and that relaxed stance only served to infuriate him.

"You think I haven't already tried that?" he forced himself to calmly reply as he let his eyes close once more. He supposed that he could try to ignore her but her voice still managed to break through his defences.

"Well then try harder!" she persisted. "You have family out there who are bending over backwards to save your arse and yet here you are, lying on your back and chit chatting with me."

As he vaguely listened, his fingers flexed at another surge of aggravation. He was still stuck on the notion that she was his personal demon sent to provoke him into madness. And it was working.

"Wait," she whispered and the sudden change in her tone of her voice caused Klaus to look back at her curiously. "You're not giving it any whack because you don't want to," she mused and a trickle of fear ran down the back of Klaus' spine.

That was when she met his gaze and Klaus felt paralysed as she examined his features.

Never had he felt so weak, so out of control of his actions. He couldn't hide anything from her no matter how hard he tried.

"You're _scared_. For some reason, you _want_ to be here," she realised.

"I will not be subjected to such ridiculous claims," he snapped back, attempting to regain some meagre element of control.

"Then prove me wrong," she retaliated, looking back up at the ceiling. "Or not. Just know that I will spend the rest of my days with the knowledge that the mighty original hybrid is actually just a chicken."

Klaus glared venomously at her and as if sensing the weight of his stare, her lips twitched up in response. Snarling to himself and cursing her bloody perceptiveness to hell, he reluctantly abided by her wishes.

Forcing up a limp and shackled hand, he inhaled in a deep breath before plunging the limb into his chest.

He only just managed to conceal his groan as his fingers stretched, scrambling desperately for the hilt of the blade but as soon as he tore apart his own skin, the pain returned with a vengeance. The hybrid cried out through the torment.

A brush of a fingertip against the metal was all he could manage before he ripped his hand out of his flesh, sagging back against the ground, panting heavily.

"Better," the woman appraised with a beam.

She pushed herself away from the wall and sat down crossed-legged at his side as she surveyed him. When she noticed the small droplets of sweat on his clammy forehead, her eyebrows furrowed. Klaus almost believed it to be concern if it wasn't for the maintained curve to her lips.

"But you still need to put in a bit more effort. That stamina of yours is lacking."

"And here I thought this could have gone in a completely different direction," Klaus rasped through his agony, an ill attempt at humour. He forced the smug grin across his face but the beauty before him just continued to smile, smoky blue eyes twinkling as she placed her palm against the side of his face.

She hovered it just millimetres away from his skin, knowing that he would never feel the simple stimulation of touch.

Her lips twitched up to match his seductive smile. She leaned in slowly and Klaus could also almost feel her warm breath on the skin of his neck. Could almost imagine her lips trailing a path of hot fire across his flesh. It was the most torturous form of pleasure and pain and he revelled in the reprieve.

His body shifted uncomfortably as he felt himself twitch in anticipation of her next move.

Then and only then did she whisper teasingly in his ear, "Like I said, that stamina of yours is lacking."

Klaus smirked and unthinkingly his hand shot out to rest his palm over hers. He craved to feel the tiniest sensation of warmth from another being, the softness of her smooth skin but his hand just fell straight through hers.

He immediately froze; his fear of once again being alone paralysing him but she didn't flicker this time. He supposed that he shouldn't have felt so astonished. For a brief moment he had lost himself and believed that she was something more than some mere ghost.

The smile on the woman's face faded as she leaned back and stared at her hand. Her skin had slightly faded in colour as Klaus' larger hand remained in place, passing through her own like a hologram.

When he ever so carefully retracted his arm, she got to her feet, moving a few paces away and whispered, "Like I said, this is your hallucination."

Klaus observed her, all his previous emotions fading back into a melancholy darkness as a slow revelation began to uphold the previous doubts in his mind. She _was_ a hallucination. A reprieve. Nothing more.

Even as a hybrid, he had to crane his head to hear her sigh, "You know, it's strange, I am never usually like this... this open." She let out a quiet laugh which lacked any notion of humour. "Maybe because I have nothing to worry about any more, now that I am dead... well death would probably be better off."

"And yet you are still here," Klaus murmured.

"Temporarily," she replied softly as she sank back down to the floor beside him. Although they could see each other, hear each other, force themselves to believe that the other was corporeal, they were both beginning to realise the torturous truth.

However hard they wished this to be a reality, the dream was shredded into pieces almost straight away by the same similar reminder. The painful reminder that they never once felt their shoulders brush.

There was a long silence as the two of them just sat there, side by side, staring uncomprehendingly into the distance.

"I don't want to feel alone anymore," She finally whispered.

Klaus turned to her. She looked back at him. "Neither do I," he admitted softly.

And in that moment, within the locked stare of a hopeless ocean into a helpless smoky, blue, something passed between them. A true understanding of each other. For in that one brief moment, they shared the weight of their loneliness.

It could have been seconds or days which had passed before his head snapped up at the faint sound of approaching footsteps. Someone was on the tunnels. Whether friend or foe, the outcome was still unknown and Klaus was too weak to fight.

A small whimper instantly caused his focus to slip away from the voices and straight back to his illusion who had leapt to her feet and was looking around the room wildly.

"No, no, not now," she begged and Klaus could do nothing except watch helplessly as her form flashed rapidly in and out of sight like the flicker of a light.

* * *

The crack of a gunshot echoed through the cemetery and the fifteen vampires halted in their tracks. They stared uncomprehendingly at the slowly desiccating body on the floor... at the small hole in the forehead which was now gently spouting blood.

Then they slowly looked up, staring shocked at the human who had a small victorious smirk on his lips.

"Faster than your average bullet, isn't it?" Dean commented, twirling his smoking gun once around in his hands. The bloodsuckers all hesitated as they took in the new potential threat.

One particularly confident vampire snarled and sped forwards, intending to gouge in the human's blood but a hand curled around his neck before he got the chance and he gasped desperately for air. A sharp pain reverberated from his head causing him to cry out loud from the impact of being slammed up against a tombstone.

"Well well, what is this?" Kol Mikaelson announced, chestnut eyes gleaming dangerously as his fingers flexed tight around the vampire's neck, snapping the windpipe like a twig. He watched eagerly as the body fell to the floor. "Are we having a blood bath tonight?"

"You lot really don't know when to quit," Sofya growled as she made her appearance once again known, pushing herself into the middle of her mercenaries. "Take them down," she commanded.

Kol grinned and leapt into action as the vampires sped forwards. It had been too long since he had participated in a good fight.

Blood spattered across the tombstones, smearing across the names of the deceased as he and his sister tore out hearts left and right. The others which had the nerve to take a shot whilst his back was turned dropped to the floor at one simple sound of gunfire.

When the second to last body fell with a sickening crunch, Kol, Rebekah and Dean all turned to face the only remaining survivor who was standing and staring horrified at the mass of carnage.

"So, what's it going to be, darling?" Kol questioned.

Sofya disappeared in a whoosh of air and Kol smirked before he faced the hunter. He had to admit, he was a little impressed, never understanding the threat which the hunter actually posed until now.

"Now I can see why my brother's little fancy kept you around," he commented, wiping his bloodied hands on the denim of his jeans.

"Well it wasn't for my replacement good looks," Dean responded shortly, holstering his gun and Kol smirked before turning to his sister.

"Can we leave this awful city now?" he demanded.

Up until then, Rebekah had been watching the silent truce which was forming between the hunter and the youngest brother but Kol's words had spurred her mind back into action.

"Where's Elijah?" she enquired sharply and at Kol's lack of response, she paled. Her plan of distraction had failed. Marcel had gone and that meant only one thing.

Freya, Elijah and Hayley were officially on the clock and time was rapidly running out.

* * *

" _Apne en vrata. Apne en vrata. Apne en vrata. Apne en vrata. Apne en vrata."_

Hayley gripped Freya's hand tighter as the eldest Mikaelson chanted hard, attempting desperately to break the boundary spell around Klaus' motionless body.

For the first time in this rescue mission, she was actually afraid. Because Elijah was right above their heads. Serving as a distraction to Marcel whilst they attempted to rescue Klaus from his prison.

"I have to get up there," she whispered, her voice trembling.

Elijah was the one who had fuelled Marcel's ire from the very beginning and he was up there risking his life, alone. All so he could give them the time they needed. The dark haired hybrid knew that Marcel could only be held off for so long and she refused to lose Elijah after she had finally reunited with him again.

"No, not yet. I'm almost through," Freya pleaded and with a renewed sense of urgency she continued to murmur the spell, " _Apne en vrata. Apne en vrata. Apne en vrata. Apne en vrata."_

The salt slowly began to part, leaving behind a small gap in the circle surrounding Klaus. He would be free if only he would move.

Hearing smashes from above them, Hayley tensed and Freya's heart stuttered. "Go. Go!" she yelled and Hayley sped off.

Without the hybrid to channel, Freya began to struggle. Sweat dripped down her forehead as she tried to maintain the gap in the boundary circle.

 _"Apne en vrata._ Klaus! Can you hear me?" she called out to her brother but he showed no response, still locked within the darkness of his own mind.

And inside his mind, there was chaos.

"What's happening?" Klaus shouted, trying desperately to get the smoky eyed woman to reply but she wasn't listening to him as she backed away, her body slamming hard against the brick wall.

Her eyes glazed over in _terror_ and for a split second, it was almost as if she couldn't see him. Like she had forgotten he was even there.

"I'm being pulled back. It was only temporary... I'm not even here, none of this is real," she muttered to herself. Then sliding down the wall, she curled up into a small ball, arms shaking as she wrapped them tight around her knees. "I don't want to go back. _Please_ don't make me go back. I can't bear it any longer."

Klaus could see feel turmoil, her agony and her fear as clearly as he could feel his own. "Then fight it love. _Stay_ ," he demanded.

"You first," she argued, never once providing Klaus with an affirmation to his command. Not that it mattered. They both already knew that she was fighting a losing battle. "Fight, you are stronger than this, _please_ just pull the god forsaken thing out!

"I'm _trying!"_ Klaus yelled back, forcing the muscles in his arm to contract but the god-forsaken limb refused to move.

"Hope _needs you_ , Klaus!" she shouted and their eyes locked.

She knew his _name_. She was human and she knew his name. Moreover s _he knew his daughter's name._ She talked of his little girl as though they were somehow familiars. But that was _impossible._

Never once breaking their gaze, she hesitantly extended out a hand and hovered it over his. Offering gentle support as he pressed his hand into his chest.

" _Fight,_ " she whispered once more, a single tear trickling down her cheek. He reached out to brush it away but her transparency was becoming more pronounced. Her form flickered once before she faded away before his eyes.

Klaus' body trembled and ocean irises began to gleam a molten gold as raw anger surged through his blood. He had never thought himself capable of such a powerful emotion towards a woman he barely knew but here he was, enraged at her sudden disappearance.

Because she had to have been real. He refused to believe that this had been some fickle trick. He would not provide her with the audacity to leave him.

An inhuman growl burst out from agonised lips as he snapped back into reality.

His hand plunged straight through the delicate flesh of his chest. Blood soaked fingers extended until finger bones cracked and he grasped the hilt of his suffering. Knuckles turning paper white from the strain of the effort, the hybrid yelled as he pulled the blade from his chest.

Klaus snarled as his wounds slowly began to heal. The Tunde blade clattered to the ground. The sound echoed eerily through the silent tunnel walls.

He weakly sped across the line much to his sister's relief as she finally stopped chanting the spell. When she pulled him into a hug, he let her, revelling in the comfort as he closed his eyes.

A part of him had believed she would reappear, that her disappearance was merely a distortion due to the hallucinations in his mind taking over him once more. Preventing him from finding a single shred of solace.

But she was gone. Just like the rest of his illusions.

* * *

"Hayley, leave us."

"He's right. This is between me and him."

Hayley never once moved from her spot directly between Elijah and Marcel, her hands held up to each of their chests, breaking up the fight. If Marcel wanted to kill Elijah, he was going to have to get through her first.

Rounding on him she assumed, "And if I stay, you'll kill me, too, make my daughter an orphan?"

Marcel paused and his face went blank.

"It's not your fight," Elijah stated.

"Yeah, it is," she retorted, glaring at him before turning back to the face which started all of this. "Hope needs her father, Marcel."

Marcel scoffed. "Yeah? I had Klaus as a father. It didn't turn out so well, did it? Your daughter's better off without him."

Hayley had intended to come here as a buffer, to deal with this calmly but his attempt to control her daughter's life after everything she had suffered enraged her.

"Better off? She is seven and she has already lost two people who meant the world to her," she spat, feeling all her anger rise to the surface. "Over the past year I have come up with so many ways in why I've wanted you dead because _I blame you_ Marcel. Their blood is on your hands."

It was irrational but she needed an outlet and the vampire before her was the root of it all. All of her baby girl's suffering had occurred after Marcel made the decision to put down the Mikaelson's.

In some part of her mind, Hayley believed that if he hadn't put pride over everything, there may have been a small and slim chance that she would have still run into the Winchesters.

And because she would have had the Mikaelsons, they would have all found a way rewrite history. To prevent Grace and Sam from falling into the cage.

"My daughter suffers because of you! You ripped apart her family!" Hayley screamed and for a moment she thought she actually saw a slither of remorse pass over Marcel's face. She made a move to attack but arms wrapped tight around her waist, tugging her back into a warm hard chest.

"Get Niklaus and go," Elijah murmured softly in her ear.

"Oh, he's not going anywhere, Elijah. And neither are you," Marcel seethed.

"Actually we are. Because you have no idea of the friends which I have made during my time away and to them you are nothing more than just another monster to kill," Hayley snarled and although she was buying for time, it didn't make her words any less true.

Between Dean, Bobby and Castiel and all the weapons which came with them, Marcel would never stand a chance.

Squaring her shoulders with renewed confidence she spat, "And to them you are the worst of them all because only a monster would keep a father from his child."

Marcel froze, hearing the same words from the night before echoing in his mind. He supposed that he should feel regret. If there was anything he had never allowed, it was the suffering of a kid but the betrayal still burned like a knife to the back and he was beyond the point of caring.

"I am what I am because of the stain of the Mikaelsons. You want justice for your family? They were _my family, too_. And Elijah tore my heart out and threw me off a bridge. And his brother just stood by and watched."

He swallowed and breathed hard. It was time to end this.

"There is only one justice left," he snarled.

Hayley and Elijah watched on in horror as the six fangs elongated and the veins spread across Marcel's face. He sped forwards but before he had the chance to attack, he was struck with a wave of agony.

The fight left him as he crumbled to his knees, his mind overcome with visions of torment and darkness.

The breath left Hayley's lungs as she watched the blade protruding from Marcel's back slowly sink down into his flesh. Then she looked up and she stared at the face of their saviour. It was Elijah who voiced his name.

"Niklaus."

* * *

"Elijah, this is me not worrying that you were supposed to be here twenty minutes ago. Please call me back." At the sound of the receiving dial tone, Rebekah snapped her phone shut and began to pace.

Her gaze never once left the large opening of the drainage pipe. They were supposed to be here by now.

"It's been too long. We should go," Kol reminded her for the hundredth time.

"We're not leaving our family," she snapped back. _Always and Forever_ they had vowed centuries ago. And she would burn New Orleans to the ground to uphold it.

"Marcel could be shredding our family to pieces as we speak."

Ignoring the gruesome visuals which plagued her mind, Rebekah turned away. She refused to believe that. She refused to believe that after all this, Marcel had won.

Looking for any form of distraction, she scanned the area for the hunter - no, the _man_ who had saved her from death countless times. The man who seemed to have sacrificed everything he had to bring her family back together.

When she found him; his muscles rippling underneath his shirt, she felt herself become momentarily short for breath before she forced herself to recognise the meaning behind the tense line of his shoulder blades.

"Dean?" she whispered, taking a hesitant step forwards.

Confused, Kol followed Rebekah's line of direction and furrowed his eyebrows. Not out of concern, no. Kol found that he was incapable of concern after the loss of Davina. It was out of respect for the hunter. That was all.

The youngest Mikaelson brother was intelligent enough to know that if a Winchester had found something was wrong then they should all be incredibly afraid.

"What is it?" he questioned.

Dean didn't answer. Hell, he didn't even care for their fast approach. Whilst the two siblings had been worrying, his eyes were scanning his surroundings, taking in all the charred corpses which were still faintly smoking from his salt and burn.

But something inside was screaming at him. Begging him to realise that not everything was as it seemed.

And then he saw it.

"That's not _possible_ ," he whispered.

Getting to his feet, he strode forwards, vaguely noticing the faint crunch of bone beneath the heel of his boot as he crouched back down beside a body. The flames had not yet fully charred the corpse.

"He wasn't killed by you," he muttered, almost to himself as his trembling hand extended. Clutching the hilt with knuckles white, he yanked the knife from where it had been wedged between the ribcage. "This is one of mine," he said, his voice almost undetectable to inhuman ears but Rebekah heard it anyway as she crouched down beside him.

Dean swallowed and turned the knife over. A familiar symbol loomed back at him, filling him with a cocktail of shock, grief and anger. Because directly below the symbol was the etching of the letter G in an all too familiar cursive script.

"This is a Winchester dagger," he whispered.

Rebekah didn't have time to question what it was that he was implying when she suddenly picked up the sound of splashing water. Both she and Kol slowly spun around to face the drainage pipe and her heart leapt with the joy when the four figures stumbled out.

Her focus was only on one person when she flashed forwards. Never had she seen him look so pale.

"Nik!" she breathed, flinging her arms around his waist. Her older brother collapsed into her arms, one limp arm wrapped loosely around her neck.

Kol quickly joined in the reunion, placing one hand on Rebekah's back and the other on Elijah's arm as all three of them stared at Klaus' limp form in concern.

"Hey, you can hug him more later. We need to leave," Freya urged, not willing to break the moment but they didn't have much time left.

Hayley sped to Dean's side and grabbed hold of his hand, ready to run at vamp speed to the truck. "Marcel's right behind us. Go. Go!"

"Actually, I'm right here." The group whipped around to see Marcel standing mere metres away and he looked furious. "You shouldn't have come back, none of you," he said, looking at each and every one of them.

"That's what family does. We fight for each other," Hayley replied.

"And what about him, huh?" Marcel demanded, feeling a surge of jealousy envelop him at the sight of Rebekah's and Hayley's protectiveness towards the hunter. "You'd fight for _him_ too?"

Klaus weakly raised his head, only just noticing the stranger in the group. A subtle shake of Elijah's head informed him that it was a matter to discuss at a later date.

Hayley and Dean just shared a look before both she turned back to him. "Family don't end in blood," Hayley replied and Dean smiled, his green eyes soft as he recalled the same words which had once been uttered to them all by a gruff man in a baseball hat.

It had only been a year or so but God he missed Bobby.

"Glad to hear. Though it didn't really apply to me, did it?" Marcel snapped.

"Oh, for _God's sake_ ," Kol groaned, rolling his eyes up to the sky. "You were never a Mikaelson, _get over it_. Now don't you have a city to run? Vampires to boot out of town?"

Marcel took a threatening step towards the youngest Mikaelson brother but quickly found his path blocked. His heart stung at the determination on Rebekah's face. He didn't know if he had it in him to kill her but if he had to he would.

"If you want to kill him you have to kill us all," she stated.

"Hey, don't push me Rebekah," he responded darkly.

"I'm itchin' to gank you right now so don't even think of threatening her," Dean stated coldly and Rebekah smiled back at him. He flexed his fingers round his gun, ready to take aim.

Although it may not work, the green eyed Winchester was certain that the bullet riddled with vervain, wolf venom from all seven werewolf clans and dead-man's blood would at least sting like a bitch.

Marcel snarled for a second but immediately stopped. His gaze had fallen on the weapon which the hunter was wielding and froze in shock. He had seen that gun before...

"That's _enough_ ," Klaus stated tiredly, striding forwards. Blinking hard to maintain his focus despite his weakened body and mind, he forced himself to continue. "That's enough, Marcel, you've won. New Orleans was our city once. Now it's yours. For good."

Forcing his mind back into focus, Marcel laughed. "Is the great Klaus Mikaelson accepting defeat? Or is this all just another distraction?"

"Neither. In fact, despite your appalling behaviour, I'm offering you a chance at peace," Klaus responded neutrally. "Attempt to kill us all and you will be making a mistake. Any who survived would no doubt return to seek revenge, bringing our enemies back to your city in our wake. And even if you did manage to eliminate us all, one day my daughter would come for you. And her daughter after that."

Marcel's eyes narrowed, considering the implications as Klaus continued, "On and on for all your days. An endless cycle of violence you will bring upon yourself. Or..." he paused and Marcel raised his head listening. "Or we leave and we never come back."

"After all that time buried in a hole, you still got some nerve," Marcel said lowly scanning the blank faces in front of him one by one and his blood boiled.

 _He_ was the one in control here.

"Yeah, well, you stand there with a straight face and try to sell this like it's _your choice._ But here's the truth. I could kill all of you right now. And tonight I would sleep like a baby. Hell, that's what you would do. You've destroyed more people, taken more lives, ended more families than _anyone who's ever lived._.."

A loud snort broke him out of his rant and his focus snapped to the hunter who was looking all too amused with something. To the left of the hunter, he observed a similar twitch at the corners of Hayley's lips.

"You got something to say?" he demanded and the hunter's head shot up, all humour gone.

"Damn right I do."

Marcel almost chuckled, surprised at the human's gall to stand up to him. It seemed as though one was underestimating the other and Marcel knew which way round it was. He couldn't be killed after all.

"Like him, you've got a lot of nerve, Dean." he said, whilst waving a hand out towards Klaus. At the flash of surprise he received from the seven faces, he smirked, "Yeah, I've heard about you. A legendary Winchester reduced to nothing but a _vampire pet_."

Green eyes narrowed into icy crystals but Dean still didn't fire.

"I've also heard the more recent stories about your family from some of my guys," Marcel commented, buying some time whilst he mulled over whether or not to kill them all. The gun had rattled him. That much was certain. "About how your sister gave Hayley some mystical ingredient to cure my bite. About how you have been helping Hayley track down werewolf clans."

When he had first received that information, he had scoffed it off, priding himself in his invincibility. Never had he expected to find himself in this situation. With the Mikaelsons roaming the earth once more.

It seemed Marcel's revelation had also affected the Mikaelson siblings who all stared at Hayley and Dean shocked but the two paid them little focus as they watched Marcel through narrowed eyes.

Hayley could almost sense that something bad was coming and she shifted closer to Dean's side, ready to defend or attack with him if necessary.

"And that, Dean, tells me everything I need to know about your family if you were all willing to release more monsters back into the world. It's no surprise your siblings got what was coming to them."

Dean stilled with Hayley's hand placed carefully on his shoulder whilst Klaus narrowed his eyes as he stared down the man who was once his progeny.

For a split second, there was a small spark of gold rage within those ocean irises but it had disappeared before he had time to even comprehend the meaning as to why his wolf was on edge.

"I can't have any more complications trying to ruin my city and because of that, I am letting you leave," Marcel finished victoriously, knowing that he had bested them all. "All of you can live the rest of your lives knowing that the only reason that you exist is because _I_ am showing you mercy." He made a move to leave.

"Yeah, that ain't gonna fly."

The Mikaelsons all whipped towards the speaker but Dean seemed to be participating in a mental discussion with Hayley. His expression was hard whilst Hayley's was pleading before she finally exhaled heavily.

She released the hold on his shoulder, understanding that he wasn't going to let any of Marcel's words go easily but it was worth a try. She was barely restraining herself in tearing Marcel into shreds, even though she knew that she would never succeed.

"You think I was gonna let all that crap you spouted out about my sister and brother slide?" Dean threatened, his voice low and deadly.

Marcel just slowly turned round and watched amused as the hunter strode towards him. He was completely unprepared for the sound of cracking bone and the burst of pain which followed the impact at his jaw bone.

"Now listen here you pompous son of a bitch," Dean seethed as he retracted his fist and shook away the sharp sting of his knuckles. "My siblings are the reason why you are still stood here alive and talkin' out your arse. Because they sacrificed their lives so pathetic creatures like you get to live."

The hunter shook his head fuming at the lack of justice standing before him. "And what do they get in return huh?" he hissed. "The grand reward of being trapped with a monster a hell of a lot more scarier than you and being tortured 'til the end of time. That should tell you everything you need to know about my family."

A tear trickled down Hayley's cheek as she nodded sadly at Dean's words. She didn't care if everyone around her could smell the salt.

It didn't matter because she had loved Grace and Sam too.

She was completely unaware at the way the Mikaelsons observed the hunter with remorse and a tiny spec of awe. Rebekah had shifted herself closer to Dean, her eyes stinging at the selflessness of the two people which she barely knew who seemed to have risked everything to save her family.

The green eyed hunter then backed up, letting his adrenaline pump through his veins like a drug and when Marcel leaned down into a crouch, he spat, "So don't you _dare_ assume you know crap about my family and if you start runnin' your mouth off about Gracie or Sammy one more time, I will track down the Colt and put you down for good, are we _clear?_ "

Marcel froze in place and for the first time since he took the serum, his heart pounded with fear. As he scrambled to gather his thoughts and put them into actions, he was completely unprepared for the hunter's following words.

"And I don't know about you but since my sister was the last one to wield it, I think I have a pretty good chance of trackin' it down don't you think?" Dean enquired casually but his green eyes gleamed victorious. Because when Marcel stumbled back a pace in shock, the hunter already knew that he had won.

Backing steadily away from the flabbergasted immortal with a self-assured curve to his lips, he proclaimed, "I hope we've finally come to an understanding. See, you live right now because _I_ am showing _you_ mercy."

Marcel stared the hunter down for a second longer and then in a whoosh of air, the beast had gone. Leaving the Mikaelson's with their freedom.

Smirking with a shake of his head, Dean strode past the shocked family with Hayley and Rebekah at his heels. Rebekah hung back for a moment beside her brothers with a smile.

"We're keeping him," she declared softly before flashing away, catching up to the other two who were already a fair distance ahead.

She left her three brothers to look at each other warily. They were no stranger to Rebekah's infatuations so they knew the signs. Just like they knew the ramifications if their little sister did not get her way. She was a Mikaelson after all and this was quite possibly her most dangerous infatuation to date.

In the end, Kol shrugged and smirked at his two brothers. "Well he's got guts, I'll give him that."

"And I will reach down his throat and tear them out if he steps one toe out of line," Klaus muttered but the poison behind his words was unclear. He swayed unsteadily, his shoulders sagging and Elijah was immediately by his side, pulling one limp hand over his shoulder.

The older original knew that his brother wasn't one to show weakness but this time he would have to make an exception.

Meanwhile, further up ahead, Dean was staring at the small dagger clenched tight in his hand. The pad of his thumb traced lightly over the small carving of the letter G at the hilt.

Hayley placed her hand over his, ignoring his small flinch. "We'll figure it out, I promise," she assured him and Dean did nothing except nod.

He could feel Hayley's concealed rage just as easily as he could feel his own. Whoever was impersonating his sister, whether it be a shifter or a crossroad demon, he would make them pay.

They both would.

* * *

Night had fallen by the time the truck had rumbled to a halt outside the house in the middle of the forest. The curtains were drawn shut and the lights were out, signifying that the occupants inside were sleeping. Hayley smiled as she slid out of the driver's seat and slammed the truck door behind her.

They were finally home.

As the Mikaelsons approached the front door, Klaus decided to linger back which went unnoticed by Elijah. "What is it?" he questioned, coming to stand by his brother's right side. Rebekah took his left as they waited for him to speak.

"Five years..." Klaus responded quietly as he stared up at the house before him. "...have has never felt so long." Dragging his gaze away, he turned to them and whispered, "Thank you for not abandoning me."

Rebekah tilted her head to the side as she regarded her brother. "Well, we did consider it," she airily replied. "The vote was rather close." And then she smiled softly, causing Klaus' lips to curve weakly into a genuine smile.

Out of all the revelations she had experienced today, this one surpassed the lot because Rebekah now knew that no matter what life threw at him, her brother would be okay. Placing a soft kiss on his cheek, she squeezed his hand gently before following her older brother's retreating back, up to the house where her little niece resided.

Klaus watched their retreat before letting out a long tired sigh. He hadn't been lying. It had been a long five years and even now there was a part of him which still believed that he was trapped in the tunnels beneath the Abattoir, dreaming of a way to escape his torturous existence.

Lost in his thoughts, the hybrid barely noticed Hayley's slow approach. "You okay?" she questioned.

"Oh, you mean considering the imprisonment, torture, and forced isolation?" Klaus answered vaguely before adding, "And not to mention the new company you seem to keep."

Hayley sighed, recognising the predictive venom and judgement and turned to him. "I'm not going to apologise for befriending the Winchesters," she responded quietly, but her tone was uncannily sharp. "They've kept our daughter alive."

"Well I suppose I should show gratitude for that," Klaus murmured back although it was half-hearted. His littlest wolf was safe and for that, he would show Dean mercy but he was no fool.

Dean Winchester had the blood of a hunter, like him. Like his family. And someone with a legacy which rivalled the Mikaelson's could not be trusted lightly.

For now he would play nice but if any harm came to his family, he vowed to rip the hunter's head from his shoulders, Hayley's new friend or not.

At the sight of his emotionless expression, Hayley realised that the subject would have to be a fight for another day. When he was fully recovered. He needed that chance to regain his strength after the sacrifice he had made. "For what it's worth, I'm sorry. I can't imagine what you've been through," she whispered and was relieved to see Klaus' face finally soften.

"Well, I had moments of solace to sustain me, it's because of them I'm here now," he responded. Because of his littlest wolf, he had endured five long torturous years... and because of _her._ The infuriating woman with the exquisite charcoal and blue hued eyes, the woman who had seemed all too familiar his and Hope's _names._

Because of her in those last moments of his imprisonment, he had found the strength to end his torment.

He hardly noticed as Hayley began to walk towards the house, it was only when she turned to him did he look at her. "So, does that mean you're ready to see your little girl?" she asked.

 _Hope. His littlest wolf. His daughter._ He had craved this moment for so long and now, when the time had finally come, he couldn't bring himself to move.

Hayley noticed his hesitance and grinned. She folded her arms and tilted her head subtly to the left, a silent gesture for him to follow her. She led him through the house and up the stairs before reaching a wooden door which was slightly ajar. She pushed it open and then leaned against the doorframe, waiting.

Klaus silently stepped into the room, shocked ocean eyes resting upon the young girl. And then she rolled over to face him and his breath caught.

Five years. How much she had grown... still just as beautiful as the day he last held her in his arms.

Hayley observed him with a soft smile. "Want me to wake her for you?" she whispered.

There was silence which followed her question and she didn't break it. Just pressed her lips together and waited patiently for him to respond.

"No. Let's let her sleep," he finally murmured back, gazing at the small relaxed smile on his littlest wolf's face.

When he made no attempt to leave, Hayley smiled softly and ever so quietly backed out of the room, leaving the almighty Klaus Mikaelson with his little girl, whom, with just one glance, had already softened his icy hardened heart.

She descended the stairs to see all four remaining Mikaelsons sat around the table, listening up to the small heartbeat with looks of contentment on their faces. It warmed her heart to know they were all already well and truly besotted with their young niece.

Her little girl truly had no idea of the effect she had on all the lives she had touched.

It was then as she scanned the room that she noticed one person missing. "Where's Dean?" she questioned, causing them all to glance at her.

"Still outside I suspect," Elijah responded, causing Rebekah to nod slowly in confirmation.

Hayley's heart stopped for a second and her breath caught. She crossed the room quickly and swung open the refrigerator door, swiping out two beers. When a warm hand curled over her arm, she turned around.

"He needs me," she explained to Elijah, her own hand reaching his and squeezing it gently. Standing up on her tiptoes, she pressed her lips lightly against his cheek and when his eyes fluttered closed, she reluctantly pulled away.

She retreated out the front door, leaving him alone with his family. The Mikaelsons: whole again at last.

She knew exactly where Dean would be. Two years spent together and countless explanations from Grace and Sam had made her aware of Dean's emotional states. It had been hard at first, her first impression of the green eyed hunter had been like a blank emotionless canvas but now she noticed the subtle changes as easily as pen to paper.

She knew when he was struggling.

Sure enough when the Impala came into view, she found him. His form was hunched with his hands braced on the hood. She could see the tense muscles across his shoulders, down his arms. To an outsider, they would take it to be a sign of anger, but Hayley knew better by now.

Dean was not enraged, he was tormented. And it hurt her to see him like this. _So so much_.

As if sensing her approach, Dean spun around. His expression was casual but Hayley could still make out the fading tear tracks down his face. She would never dare to mention it because Dean wasn't one for deep talks, he wasn't one for crying in front of others. She had come to notice that it was a trait in all three of the Winchester siblings.

To never show weakness on the surface. To fight to the death for their family, even when they made each other miserable because _that's what family does_. Maybe that was why she had been drawn to them. In a way, they had reminded her of the Mikaelsons.

When Dean said nothing, Hayley raised her hands, shaking the cans in his face with a teasing smile. Dean shook his head and his mouth twitched. "You read my mind, Hayls."

Hayley passed him a can which he accepted almost immediately, opening it with the flick of his thumb before taking a long hard chug.

"Hey," she said and Dean craned his head to the left to see her slowly growing smile. "We did it."

"We sure did," he replied.

He raised his can and Hayley smirked as she clinked hers against his. The two of them then just leant back against the hood of the Impala. Revelling in the peace of the night air surrounding them.

"They would be proud," Hayley whispered into the silence as she slowly lay her head to rest on his shoulder and Dean's eyes burned as they stared up at the darkness above.

"They sure would."

* * *

The images flashed through his mind in startling visual definition as he stumbled into St Anne's church. The disappearance of Adam, the blue light and the symbol. The symbol which to this day still haunted him. It all added up to one thing. New Orleans was in danger and Vincent Griffith was terrified.

Swiping out his phone, former regent rapidly punched in the number and pressed call. As it rang, he skidded to his knees and frantically tore up the weak floorboard to reveal a rectangular safe.

"Hey, it's Marcel, leave a message."

Vincent swore as he sliced open his hand, letting his blood spatter across the safe. "Marcel you're gonna want to call me back. I saw something today and it's something that I've seen before," he stated urgently, watching the mechanics of the box whirl to life.

The top popped open and Vincent reached down to pull out its contents as he continued shakily, "Look, I tell you, this city everyone in it is in danger. And it might just be all my fault."

He hung up the phone with a shaking hand, whilst his other gripped the small leather bound book. He slumped down into a chair and reluctantly flipped the book over. On its cover was the same symbol he had seen today. The ouroborus. The symbol of a serpent eating its own tail.

Vincent inhaled a sharp breath of terror, completely unaware that he was being observed by sharp and piercing eyes.

* * *

"Remind me, if I'm ever gonna piss you off, make sure there isn't a crossbow lying around," Marcel said with a warm smile as he lounged on the sofa. He watched Sofya fill up the glasses of scotch. Now this was his type of girl.

"I appreciate the gratitude, but I didn't exactly finish the job, did I?" Sofya responded with an arched eyebrow. Smoothing down her dress, she took a seat beside him and regretfully muttered, "Rebekah got away, as did Kol."

She passed him a glass and which Marcel gratuitously took. "That's the Mikaelsons," he explained darkly as he took a sip. "It's hard to stop one, let alone the whole clan and this time they had an ace up their sleeves. A Winchester."

Sofya paled, remembering the human with the uncanny aim. Her blood turned cold and she gripped her glass harder to conceal the way her fingers quivered.

"But that's not all," Marcel muttered and heart pounding rapidly, Sofya leaned forwards, frown lines on her face.

"What do you mean?" she questioned softly.

Marcel paused in his answer, still mulling over the shock of tonight's events. During the past year there had been whispers and celebrations across the supernatural community. That two of the Winchester siblings had fallen during battle. The specifics had been unclear but many had hoped that their end had been agonisingly slow.

Up until now, he had believed the truth to the tales, after all, the same whispers had ensured his knowledge of the remaining Winchester allying with Hayley Jackson-Kenner.

He had every intention of ending the lives of the Mikaelson's and the Winchester today... that was until he recognised the gun in the hunter's hand. The gun which was almost, if not _exactly_ identical to the one which the woman had wielded at the Abattoir.

Coming to a decision, he commanded, "I want you to gather all the information you can find on Dean Winchester and his siblings."

Sophie nodded. She would get her men on it but the inquisitiveness and fear were simultaneously eating at her as she asked, "Why do you need it?"

Marcel paused. It was a simple question but the answer was anything but.

Because maybe he had been wrong. Maybe the legends were true. Maybe the Winchesters were immune to death's clutches after all.

Taking a long and slow sip from his glass, he murmured back, "Because I think his sister is alive."

* * *

 **Hope this chapter makes up for the long wait! I had a small break from my uni work! Please review and let me know what you think :)**

 _Reviews from the last chapter  
_

 _Dark-Supernatural-Angel: Haha, the different reactions to Dean are so fun to write! Hope you liked the confrontation between Dean and Marcel, it took a while to get it the way I wanted it to go but I think I got there in the end. I'm so glad you liked the Klaus scenes and there will be some hope to come soon :D. Until then, hope you liked the chapter!  
lilnightmare17: I'm so glad you liked it, hope you liked this one too :D  
xenocanaan: Thank you so much and I am so sorry for the long wait! Hope this chapter made up for it!  
happinessinthedarktimes: Haha hope this chapter gives you a bit more of an idea! Can't wait for you to see what I have planned!  
Guest 1: Haha, Thank you it means so much! Hope this chapter was up to standard :)  
Guest 2: Thank you! Hope you liked the update :D  
Aliana . Gabriella . Winchester.17: It's finally here! I'm sorry it took so long :)  
aileyelliot38: Thank you! Hope you liked this chapter too, especially Dean's confrontation with Marcel. It was a hard one to write but I think I got it!  
musicluver246: Thank you and I hope you liked the update :)  
Lycanthrope Vera: Thank you so much, I'm so glad you like it! Hope you liked the chapter!  
Markosgirl69: It's finally here! So sorry for the long wait but hope you liked it.  
_

 **Can't wait to share the next episode chapters with you! Can't say much but Dean will come across a creature from Supernatural and the outcome will affect his decision to leave town. :D**


	11. Haunter of Ruins

_The room was dark. Cold. Like all the life had been sucked from the room and been replaced with nothing except loneliness, death and despair._

 _That was Dean's first impression of his surroundings when he slowly drifted back into consciousness. The metal felt like ice against his wrist causing his skin to erupt into tiny Goosebumps._

 _He instinctively tugged at the restraint but it never once gave. It kept his arm suspended above him._

 _That was when he opened his eyes. He seemed to be in a cabin, judging by the size only. There was nothing else he could gather on who had knocked him out or why._

 _As his eyes adjusted to the dim lighting of an overhanging lightbulb, Dean realised that the room contained practical necessities only. There was nothing which showed any form of sentimentality. No pictures, no lonely nostalgic childhood keepsakes, nothing._

 _His green eyes squinted up towards the handcuff which chained his wrist to a ladder rung and winced at the sharp splitting pain radiating from the back of his skull. Groaning, he carefully turned his head and scanned the room._

 _To his right, a familiar unconscious body lay slumped in a sitting position. Her head was lolled forwards with her ashy brown tresses tumbling over her face and Dean's heart lurched painfully._

 _"Grace," he murmured but she didn't once stir at his vocal attempt to rouse her and she was far too out of reach for him to shake her awake._

 _He fought his restraint once more, his desperate gaze never once straying from her pale face... and the blood which was slowly oozing from the gaping cut at her temple._

 _His wrist twisted frantically within the metal cuff as he urgently begged her to wake. "Gracie."_

 _"She's not dead. Will probably wake up with one hell of a headache though."_

 _That was when Dean noticed the steady rise and fall of her chest and let out an inaudible sigh of relief before slowly schooling his features. He turned his head to face the speaker who had just entered the room and couldn't contain his shock._

 _Because this man before him was his identical in every sense of the word. "What the hell?" he murmured, attempting to shake off his drowsiness._

 _"I should be asking that question, don't you think?" the other Dean stated grimly as he swiped up a firearm and cocked the handle before aiming at Dean's face. "In fact, why don't you give me one good reason why I shouldn't gank you right here and now?"_

 _"Because you'd only be hurting yourself," Dean snarked back with his lips twitched but his doppelganger's expression remained blank._

 _"Very funny," he replied, his voice just as icy as his expression but nevertheless he lowered the gun a fraction of a centimetre._

 _"Look man," Dean began whilst giving another fruitless tug of his handcuffs. "I'm no shapeshifter or demon or anything, okay?"_

 _"Yeah, I know. I did the drill while you were out," the other Dean responded as he ticked off all the options. "Silver, salt, holy water—nothing."_

 _He then paused before leaning forwards. His brows lowered into a hard line and a glimmer of confusion crossed his face._

 _"But you know what was funny?" he mused. "Was that the two of you had every hidden lock pick, box cutter, and switchblade that I carry. Now, you want to explain that?" he demanded before adding, "Oh, and the, uh, resemblances, while you're at it?"_

 _"Isn't it obvious?"_

 _Dean's head whipped to his right and a low breath escaped his parted lips as he watched his sister slowly raise her head. Glad that she was finally conscious._

 _"Like you said, you tested everything," she continued, not even attempting to fight against the cuff tethering her wrist as her blue grey eyes flashed with a hint of amusement towards the future version of her brother. "You should be able to figure it out yourself."_

 _Until now, the other Dean had barely paid Grace any attention and only after she finished speaking did he pierce her with a hard gaze. "I wasn't talkin' to you," he stated coldly and Grace blanched._

 _Seeing the nervous emotion passing through his sister's face sent a jolt of anger through Dean's body. Enough for him to want to get out of his restraints and pummel his future self just for looking at her with such distain._

 _"Zachariah," he relented and his future self suddenly straightened up, staring at him with rapt attention._

 _"Come again?" he clipped, the emotionless stance returning at the mention of the angel's name._

 _Dean closed his eyes in exasperation before clarifying, "Feathered son of a bitch plucked us from our beds and threw us five years into the future."_

 _"Where is he? I want to talk to him," the future Dean commanded. He began to pace towards Dean who just shook his head in response._

 _"I don't know," he responded and watched his doppelganger's mouth twist into a sneer._

 _"Oh, you don't know," he fumed._

 _"Course he doesn't know, he ain't friggin' Yoda," Grace muttered and Dean sent a small smirk towards his sister which she returned before they both turned back to face the future version of Dean who did not look at all impressed._

 _"Look man, we just want to get back to our own year, okay?" Dean seethed._

 _There was a small silence as the two Deans just stared at each other with rage mirrored in both of their glares. Grace watched the two of them warily._

 _Finally, the future Dean rubbed a tired hand over his chin before lowering down into a crouch in front of his younger self. "Okay," he muttered to himself. "If you're me, then tell me something only I would know."_

 _Dean mulled over the question with furrowed brows before his mouth curved into a smirk. "Rhonda Hurley," he replied and when his older self tilted his head to the side, he sent a hesitant glance towards his confused sister before reluctantly elaborating. "We were, uh, nineteen. She made us try on her panties."_

 _His doppelganger showed no recollection and Dean didn't dare look towards Grace as he forced the slight humiliated flush back and added, "They were pink. And satiny. And you know what? We kind of liked it."_

 _The future Dean just stared for a moment. And then after a short while his eyebrows raised. "Touché," he appraised, finally convinced. Then his emerald eyes slowly moved to Grace. "And you?" he demanded and Grace bit her lip, hiding a humoured smile._

 _"Well I don't think I can top that. Good blackmail material though." She faced her brother with a cocked eyebrow. "Really? You liked it?" she chirped, causing Dean to groan._

 _If this got back to Sam then all hell would break loose._

 _"Look, let's cut it with the chit chat alright?" the older Dean snapped. "I don't care if it ain't good enough, I just need proof that it's you." When Grace was about to retort, he instantly cut over her. "What? You think I'm stupid enough not to cover all bases?"_

 _The humour drained from Grace's face as the two of them locked eyes._

 _Then Grace looked away and reached into her coat pocket. "This proof enough for you?" she queried and the future Dean stared almost unseeingly with his mouth agape at the sight of the small toy soldier in her hand._

 _Dean smiled softly. He knew that his older self was thinking the exact same thing that he was right now. Remembering that this toy wasn't just some sentimental keepsake._

 _It was the remembrance of a promise. The promise that all three Winchester siblings would keep each other safe. Always._

 _The older Dean's lips suddenly pressed themselves together and he got to his feet, backing up. "So, what, Zach zapped you up here to see how bad it gets if you say no to Michael?"_

 _"I guess," Dean replied and his mind flashed back to the little girl who he had encountered with his sister earlier. The girl with the blood seeping out of her mouth. She had attacked them like some rabid animal. He remembered pulling Grace away from the hordes of humans which had been chasing them._

 _The Demons had found quite the efficient way to wipe out the human race._

 _"Croatoan virus, right? That's their endgame?" he guessed._

 _"It's efficient, it's incurable, and it's scary as hell. Turns people into monsters," the other Dean murmured as he strode round the room, loading and equipping himself with weapons. "Started hitting the major cities about two years ago. World really went in the crapper after that."_

 _"Where am I in all this? Where is Sammy?" Grace wondered._

 _The future Dean went utterly still. "Heavyweight showdown in Detroit," he admitted and stared hard at the wall behind them. "From what I understand, Sam didn't make it,"_

 _Dean's heart tumbled and he found himself suddenly short for breath. For words. "You weren't with him?" he whispered._

 _"No," future Dean stated. "Sam and I haven't talked in - hell, five years." His head then whipped around to Grace who flinched at the venom she saw in his green orbs. "She had though. She was in Detroit with Sam that day, failed to save him though." When Grace paled, he jeered, "She's been guilt ridden about the whole thing ever since. Now the two of us hardly ever speak."_

 _"We never try to find him?" Dean wondered, swallowing hard at the overload of information. Sam was dead, He and Gracie never spoke. It made his stomach twist painfully as his future self just shook his head._

 _"We had other people to worry about," he stated shortly, grabbing a rifle and turning away._

 _"Where you going?" Dean demanded._

 _"I've got to run an errand," he replied, picking up a duffel bag and hauling it over his shoulder._

 _"Whoa. You're just gonna leave us here?" Dean accused, jiggling his cuff for emphasis. Although a part of him knew that it would be no use. Once a Winchester had his or her mind set, there was no changin' it._

 _To his right, Grace just leaned back, not even bothering to protest._

 _"Yes," the other Dean retorted. He spun round on his foot as he addressed his younger self. "I got a camp full of twitchy trauma survivors out there with an apocalypse hanging over their head. The last thing they need to see is a version of The Parent Trap."_

 _Dean lolled his head back irritated, waiting for his future self to stop speakin'._

 _"So, yeah, you stay locked down."_

 _"Okay. All right. Fine. But you don't have to cuff me, man," Dean surrendered but when the other Dean reached for the door handle he snapped, "Oh, come on. You don't trust yourself?_

 _His older self turned back around, scrutinised him once and stated, "No. Absolutely not."_

 _"What about me?" Grace queried._

 _"After all the crap you have pulled in the past? Like hell," he spat, not even sparing her one more glance as he strode from the room, closing the door with a loud slam._

 _"Dick," Dean muttered darkly as he watched the door shut behind his future self's retreating back._

 _"You're not the brightest lightbulb in the future are you?" Grace murmured with a sly smile._

 _Dean turned to see a mischievous gleam in her cloudy blue eyes. She twirled a rusted nail in between her thumb and forefinger and a moment later, her handcuffs clattered on the wooden floor._

 _"After all..." she sent him a warm smile and continued, "You taught me that trick."_

 _"He must have had a rough day alright. Cut the man some slack." Dean defended his older self, albeit half-heartedly. He was never one to admit how much he still underestimated both Gracie and Sammy. They would always be his baby sister and brother._

 _His responsibility._

 _Grace threw him the nail and his left hand shot out to catch it. As he fiddled with the lock pick, he almost missed Grace's fearful words._

 _"Did you see the way he looked at me?"_

 _Dean paused and swallowed hard. He had seen it alright. The emotion in his doppelganger's eyes had been all too easy to read._

 _Pure anger._

 _His mouth was set in a tight line before he gave the nail one final twist and the handcuffs clicked open. "Let's just find out what crap ass Back to the Future world we've found ourselves in and figure out how to get out of it. Okay?" he responded as he got to his feet._

 _And although he could see it eating at her, Grace still nodded reluctantly as she followed suit._

* * *

The dream faded in colour behind Dean's closed eyes as he arose back into the throes of consciousness. His eyelids fluttered as a figure approached his bedroom door but he quickly drifted back off into the throes of sleep.

Hayley rolled her eyes as she watched the hunter grunt and roll over, still dressed in his change of clothes from the day before. Beside her, a child was bouncing on her tiptoes in anticipation. She was about to step forwards but Hayley immediately placed a warning hand on her shoulder.

"Hope, remember what we said," she cautioned sternly and Hope groaned.

"Stay out of the room until Dean's fully awake," she replied before taking a few steps back and lingered by the entrance. When her mother crossed her arms, she reluctantly added, "With a wall between me and him for protection."

Hayley watched her daughter with amusement as she left the room fully. Only then did the hybrid approach the hunter. One shake of his arm was enough for his green eyes to snap open. In a flash, he had whipped his gun out from underneath his pillow but Hayley's hand closed instantly over his wrist.

"I'm not a threat, give it," she demanded and Dean blinked drowsily.

He released his hold on the gun, allowing Hayley to take it from him as he fell back against his pillows, the flashbacks still coursing through his head.

He saw Hayley start to open her mouth and instantly cut her off with a raised finger. "Ah, no talkin' 'til I've had..." he trailed off as Hope entered the room, carefully carrying a brimming cup of coffee. She held it out to Dean with a toothy beam and he softly grumbled, "You're a good kid," before inhaling in the caffeine.

Hope shifted her weight from one foot to the other as she impatiently waited for Dean to finish his drink. When he finally got up, her arms shot out, wrapping themselves around his middle. "I know you could both do it!"

Dean wrapped one gentle arm around her back in return. "Yeah, they're all here," he replied and Hope grinned.

Hayley's heart warmed at the sight of her daughter's obvious happiness before she scrutinised Dean's face and frowned. "You need to sleep more," she murmured, noticing the obvious bags under his eyes.

"I've had worse nights," Dean muttered back, removing his arms from around Hope and shrugging half-heartedly. "Like Bon Jovi once said, _'I'll sleep when I'm dead.'_ "

Hayley crossed her arms and blinked a couple of times before composing her expression into one of amused disapproval. "Bon Jovi?" she repeated and Dean sighed.

"You know, you're as narrow minded as my brother was. Bon Jovi rocks."

"But only on occasion," Hope finished happily. Hayley and Dean stared at her with shock adjoining their faces but Hope was completely oblivious as she rushed out the door. They could hear her almost bouncing down the stairs two at a time.

Hayley muttered, "You really need to stop teaching her to be more like you," as the two of them followed her daughter out of the room and Dean just smiled although Hayley could see the smugness he was failing to conceal.

"Not my fault she picks that stuff up."

They found Hope standing stock still in the hallway, her wide eyes fixed on the door. She faltered back a step and Dean furrowed his brows as he zeroed in on the faint trembling of her hands.

The young girl turned to face them and all it took was the pleading look for Hayley to wrap a comforting arm around her shoulders. The two of them approached the door and Hayley just caught the end of the argument drifting in from outside.

"Any delay is a risk," she could hear Freya's cool statement.

"One day," Klaus demanded. "We're in the middle of nowhere, the house is cloaked. We weren't followed, and _I'm not asking_!"

Hearing Klaus' voice raising to almost below a bellow, Hayley swiftly pushed down on the door handle. She couldn't put off Hope meeting her family and if she delayed it any longer, the first time her daughter met her father would be during a famous Mikaelson dispute.

She pushed the door open and the original family all turned to face them. Klaus' emotions instantly faded from rage to awe and the rest of his siblings gathered in close, staring at their niece with soft expressions.

"Everybody, look who's awake," Hayley announced with a forced smile and Hope chewed nervously on her lip.

Dean just leant against the doorframe with his arms crossed as he scrutinised the reunion through narrowed eyes. Ensuring that whatever this argument had been about, was not going to upset the kid in any way.

But the original family did nothing of the sort. Their fight seemed long since forgotten for the time being as they all gazed at the youngest member of their family with small smiles upon their faces.

Klaus took a step forwards and Hope stared up at him. She barely felt her mother's fingers running comfortingly through her hair as she stared up at her dad. Her heart was beating rapidly.

"Hello," she whispered.

"Hello," he replied gently.

Hope exhaled a calming breath before turning her head towards her mom. "Mom, can I go play in the garden?" she questioned, forcing the words out as she tried to stop her inward feeling of falling down a never-ending hole.

Hayley looked confused before smiling slightly and placing a light hand on her back. "Yeah. Sure," she responded with a smile and Hope nodded quickly before ducking her head and speeding down the path.

The originals all watched her retreat with confused and disheartened expressions.

"Dean," Hayley then murmured and shot a glance towards the hunter but he had already placed one brief hand on her shoulder.

"Already on it," he muttered back before gently brushing past her, taking off after Hope. Leaving Hayley to face the repercussions of the upcoming family drama which he wanted no part in. He had seen the accusing glare in the original hybrid's eyes. Not that it mattered, Hayley could handle her own against him.

He found the kid pulling up a chair at the table beside the lake and he made his way across the garden towards her. "You know, your ol' man is probably in a bit of a state back there," he muttered, pulling up a chair and crossing his arms on the table before letting out a smirk. "I approve."

Hope's tense shoulder's sagged and she dropped the paintbrush which she had been holding limply in her grip.

"I couldn't do it," she confessed quietly. "I wanted to meet him more than anything. He saved my family. He's kept me safe." She bit on her lip before looking up at Dean through watery blue eyes. "What if he thinks I am not worth it? What if he doesn't like me?" she croaked, her words stammering.

She was overwhelmed and Dean let out a low chuckle at the doubt swirling round her sea blue orbs. It was something he recognised all too well.

"You know, it's funny - I felt the same way when it came to my dad," he began, picking up the paintbrush she had dropped and rotated it idly between his fingertips, trying to find the best way to describe the tiny shreds of light which he had seen in John Winchester. "He always tried to keep my siblings and I safe and I always looked up to him. I wanted to prove to him that I was a good kid."

Dean paused for a moment, letting his words sink in to his mind more than Hope's.

"I never thought I was a good enough son and then one day, he saved my life and he died tryin'."

He let the paintbrush fall.

Hope took in every word which Dean spoke and the hunter could see her curiosity rising just as quickly as her fear was beginning to fall. He had never once mentioned John to Hope or Hayley because in truth, the bastard had done a crap job at being a father.

But he had still been family... and that was what mattered most.

He looked back to Hope who was soaking in the new information like a sponge and his voice seemed distant as he admitted, "My dad may not have been the best person but he did a lot more good than bad. And he raised us right." A small melancholy smile tugged at his lips. "I suppose in the end, he was one of the most important people in my life."

Hope tilted her head to the side before sighing sadly and reached across the table towards her art book. Opening it up, her hand hovered slightly over the pages before she hesitantly removed a rectangular slip of paper before turning it over and placing it in between them.

"I always wanted all of you to be here to meet him with me," she whispered as she looked down at the photo, not realising the paling pallor of Dean's skin. "All of you. You and Bobby and Cassy and Sammy... Gracie." She closed her eyes and finished, almost inaudibly, "I'm afraid."

Dean inhaled a sharp breath and swallowed hard, feeling the way his heart burned at the sight of the people he loved: Bobby, Cas, Hayley, Hope... and those he had lost... his little sister and brother.

In the days following that visit to the future, Dean had made a phone call. He, Grace and Cas had all returned to Bobby's and that photo had been taken on the day when Sammy came back home.

Following Hope's gaze to one specific person on the photo, Dean found his voice and said, "Let me ask you a question. What was my sister like?"

Hope paused, thinking it over carefully before replying, " _Fierce_. She was fierce. Fierce towards everything but her family." The revelation then hit her and she softly added, "She protected her family."

"We protected each other," Dean uttered back. "And I'm betting everythin' I got that your dad is the exact same." Emerald eyes then strayed towards the house and he could only just make out the figures of Klaus and Hayley standing on the porch as he continued, "Someone that dedicated to protecting his family? That's alright in my books."

Hope looked up and observed her dad with a smile. One which soon faded as her eyes lowered back to the photo. "I wish they were still here," she mumbled.

Dean's throat clogged. "Me too kid," he murmured, his eyes stinging as he stared unseeingly at the laughter shining in his siblings' faces, captured in one single moment. "Me too."

* * *

Klaus watched Dean Winchester through narrowed eyes as the hunter made his way towards Hope. He saw the way his daughter relaxed instantly at the hunter's mere presence and quelled the raging urge which was surging through his veins.

He hadn't shed blood in so long. And the hunter would put up a memorable fight.

His jaw clenched as he turned to face the mother of his child who was watching him expectantly.

"What terrible things did you tell her?" he seethed and Hayley exhaled a short breath before perching herself on the porch railing.

"I told her that you're a hybrid, like me. I also told her that you're very old." Klaus lowered his gaze to the floor as he listened intently to her words and she pursed her lips and shrugged casually before adding, "Other than that, she's seven. We can wait to share the gory details."

"And yet she still fears me," Klaus muttered, his hands clenching into fists as he turned his poisonous glare back on the hunter. "What lies has your new friend been colluding? Conspiring to turn my daughter against me - perhaps with that crone, Mary."

Hayley snorted at that. The day that Dean and Mary conspired together would be the day hell literally froze over.

A dark snarl coming from the man before her caused her to emit one of her own. "Stop," she commanded. "I've spent five years protecting her from everything, including all the horror stories floating around about you."

"And yet you let one horror story slip into your midst," Klaus hissed. "You let a _hunter_ around my daughter."

And a _Winchester_ at that. His irises flashed a golden rage.

"You think that I was an inadequate parent?" Hayley fumed, pushing herself of the railings and crossing her arms. Glaring at him as a slither of a betrayal passing through her as she spat, "You think that I didn't know what was best for my daughter?"

She clenched her teeth and ground them together and she took one step forward. Her shoulders squared and her head held high as she stood her ground. "We were around Dean, Grace and Sam for a whole _year_. They provided us a sanctuary. A _home_. They cared about us so much so that they were willing to help us on top of all their own crap which they had to deal with."

She inhaled and exhaled angrily, never realising how she had somehow caught Klaus' unwilling attention.

"Did you even _listen_ to what Dean said to Marcel? That it was his sister, Grace _Winchester_ who gave me the means to save you all on the day I had almost given up all hope?" she enquired once she had calmed herself enough to deal with this maturely. "She knew what you were from the beginning, what you were capable of and she _didn't care_. And over time, her brothers felt the same."

An unusually calm silence passed between them and knowing that the fight was over for now, Hayley slumped back and turned away. She refused to show Klaus the extent of which this whole conversation was affecting her. Any mention of the fallen Winchester siblings sent a painful ache through her chest.

"She sounds like she was quite the character."

Hayley jumped slightly and spun back around, stunned to see the thoughtful look on his face. "She was," she replied honestly, looking away and staring unseeingly into the forest surrounding them.

As another moment or two passed by, Hayley soon found her focus drifting back to her daughter who was peering up at Dean with a mixture of awe and woe. Her eyebrows furrowed as she honed in on the conversation and she smiled a soft smile.

"Listen, does that sound like conspiring to you?" she questioned gently.

Klaus looked at her before turning his attention to his daughter and the hunter.

As if sensing their gazes on him, Dean looked up as he continued to converse with Hope. "Someone that dedicated to protecting his family? That's alright in my books."

Klaus saw the smile on his daughter's face and he found himself lost for words.

"Now do you see? Hope's a sensitive kid, she's lost a lot of good people," Hayley explained as the two of them just watched their daughter deflate into sadness as she mentioned Grace and Sam. "And right now, she needs you."

Klaus turned to her and Hayley could see it all. The worry that he wouldn't be good enough for his daughter, the fear that he would screw this up.

"You were her fairy tale prince, Klaus. And now you're real. You have a lot to live up to."

Klaus said nothing and Hayley walked away. Her bit was done. The rest was up to him.

* * *

The original hybrid had barely noticed Hayley's absence, his gaze never once leaving his daughter.

When she picked up the paintbrush and put it to paper, a smile graced his lips and he forced himself forwards, closing the distance between them.

The hunter had sensed his approach, the hybrid could tell and he was almost impressed. He had come across many hunters over the past thousand years but not one had shown the near flawless instincts which this human was presently portraying.

Recalling Hayley's words, he smirked. He would make it so that Dean Winchester would either become his potential ally or foe... depending on his mood.

He approached his daughter's side, standing behind the remaining available chair and looked down, admiring her even strokes as she painted a picture of a calming, cobalt blue hue.

"That's lovely," he said softly and Hope paused.

The auburn haired girl sent a quick glance to Dean who nodded slightly and she took in a deep breath before her innocent sea orbs met ocean. "Mom said you like to paint, too," she stated hesitantly.

"I do. Very much," Klaus replied and Hope chewed on the inside of her cheek. She resumed her painting.

A small silence passed between them and Klaus' gaze lowered. Dean and watched the forlorn hybrid out of the corner of his green eyes before turning back to Hope.

Recognising her expression, he leaned back with a small twitch of his lips as Hope reached for her art book and tore out a blank page. She stood up, extending her arm before placing the paper on the table in front of Klaus.

He looked at her, shocked and confused and she looked back at him, expectant before resuming her painting.

Dean rolled his eyes as he observed the metaphorical bulb light up in the hybrid's mind. The hunter then pushed his chair back and got to his feet. He patted Hope on the shoulder before leaving, knowing the kid had finally gotten over her initial apprehension.

He had barely taken ten steps before he paused and turned back around. The scene caused his cold heart to tighten. They were painting together. Father and daughter, a family reunited after five long years.

Dean smiled sadly at the scene he so desperately craved. The concept of a family. But that life was never meant to be for him. No matter how hard he had tried to change the future.

At least this version was better than the one he had once found himself zapped to but somehow, it was always his family who made the hard sacrifices so that everybody else could live on happily.

Dean's gaze drifted to the left. To his Impala.

He walked back up to Hayley's house, his mind set. It was time for him to move on. There were just a few things he had to pick up first.

* * *

"Now that our brother has found his noble purpose, what about you?"

Elijah contemplated Rebekah for a moment as he braced one hand against the doorframe. He carefully responded, "Let's give him the day with his daughter. Tomorrow we seek sanctuary elsewhere."

"That's not what I meant, is it?" Rebekah responded, not fooled by her brother's antics in the slightest. When he slipped his hands inside his suit pockets and looked away from her, she pressed, "You're no longer tethered to him. You must have thought about it. So what will you do with your immortality, now you're not burdened with saving Nik's soul?"

Elijah faced her once more. The question perplexed him. He had always been the one to clean up Niklaus' messes. Remain by his brother's side to deal with every past concurrent mishaps and tribulations.

What would his life be like now that he was no longer obligatory bound to his brother?

He looked out of the window, his gaze befalling upon the father and daughter together. Now that Niklaus was finally happy, he supposed that he was no longer needed and the thought put him slightly off balance.

"I don't know," he finally replied and turned away from the window, approaching his sister instead. "And what of you? Do you still desire a family of your own?" he queried.

"Well, true love continues to elude me," Rebekah sighed and she couldn't even begin to disguise the sadness and longing within her. For so long, the notion of love had been something so close and yet so far out of reach. "Though certainly there's an app for that now," she muttered.

"I am sorry. I know the way you felt about Marcel," Elijah murmured sincerely and Rebekah nodded. She was sorry too. Somehow when it came to the men she cared about, she was always the one who ended up getting hurt or betrayed.

Pushing those drowning feelings from her mind, she stood up and stated, "We have the opportunity for a fresh start." Then approaching her brother, she lowered her voice to a whisper. "Perhaps we should both use this one quiet day to decide what we want our new beginning to be."

Light footsteps from behind her instantly broke Rebekah out of her despondent musings and she turned around, her expression turning soft as she walked forwards and peered around the door, watching Dean Winchester silently ascend the stairs.

She took another step forwards but a gentle hand on her shoulder pulled her back.

"Be careful Rebekah," Elijah cautioned. "Do not let your emotions impair your judgement. I _implore_ you, do not repeat your past mistakes."

Rebekah faced him, understanding the insinuation. Her dear noble brother, always looking out for everyone except himself. Their past dealings with hunters had never ended well, especially with The Five.

And maybe Dean was dangerous but he was Hayley's friend. And she trusted Hayley. He wouldn't betray them.

She placed her hand lightly against Elijah's cheek. "Dean is not like them, he's... _different_ ," she responded. She then smiled to herself. "And maybe that's exactly what I need right now."

Elijah sighed but Rebekah just placed one gentle kiss to his cheek before leaving him be. She had a hunter to find.

* * *

 _The two Deans and Grace were standing inside the headquarters of Camp Chitaqua, watching as the recruits filed out. Grace was still staring at the retreating form of Castiel in disgust and Dean was struggling to maintain a neutral face._

 _Although it was quite refreshing to see the stick removed from his friend's ass, the drugs and the orgies and the love guru tendencies were some messed up future crap in itself._

 _And tonight, around midnight, they were all going to kill the Devil. And for some reason, Dean's future self wanted both him and Grace to tag along._

 _"So has future you bust up a few brain cells or something? Why would you want us in the crossfire?" Grace wondered as she turned her gaze away from the door. Her attention automatically strayed to the object on the table in front of them._

 _The object which neither Winchester sibling could now keep their eyes off of._

 _The Colt._

 _The future Dean followed her line of sight and questioned, "Would you stay behind like a good girl and wait for all this to blow over?" When Grace pressed her lips together and turned away, he muttered, "Thought not."_

 _"Yeah but my sister has a point," Dean defended. He examined his future self critically as he realised, "There's more to it."_

 _"Yeah, okay," the other Dean agreed. He strode forwards until Dean and he were standing face to face. "You're both coming because I want you to see something. I want you to see our brother."_

 _Grace spun back around, her indignant posture falling in an instant, unable to conceal her shock._

 _"Sam?" Dean quizzed. He blinked a few times as he attempted to absorb the information. "I thought he was dead."_

 _The future Dean paused for a moment, almost like he was weighing up the words before admitting, "Sam didn't die in Detroit. He said yes."_

 _A shocked silence fell between them._

 _"To Lucifer?" Grace whispered and the future Dean regarded her coolly._

 _"He's wearing our brother to the prom," he responded._

 _Dean swallowed hard. His head hurt and his stomach rolled over and over inside his body. "Why would he do that?" he uttered and Grace sank into the nearest available chair._

 _"Wish I knew," the other Dean replied. He braced the palms of his hands on the table in front of him and for the first time, the two Winchester siblings saw a glimmer of tiredness in his face._

 _"But now we don't have a choice. It's in him, and it's not getting out. And we've got to kill him." His hand curled over the Colt, gripping the handle tight. "And the two of you need to see it—the whole damn thing, how bad it gets—so you can do it different."_

 _Dean and Grace looked at each other, completely unsure of what to say or do. The future Dean paid them no notice as he unzipped his duffle bag and placed the Colt inside._

 _Grace ran a hand down the side of her face and closed her eyes. When the future version of her brother made his way to the door, she leapt to her feet. "I want to talk to your Grace," she demanded._

 _"She's too busy to deal with you. Told me that herself," the other Dean stated, not bothering to pay her any attention and Grace just scoffed._

 _"That's bullshit."_

 _"Not my problem."_

 _"Oh, like hell it is!" When he kept on walking, she strode forwards, an irritable anger bubbling through her blood. "I'm your sister, you insufferable git and future self or not I always know when there is something you're not telling me!"_

 _She grasped hold of his shoulder tight, her nails digging into the rough denim jacket._

 _"Hey! Look at me!" she yelled and he froze for a moment before slowly turning back around._

 _Grace's skin faded to white as she gazed almost unseeingly into the red rimmed pools of green staring back at her. Her hand loosened its grip and dropped to her side as she slowly backed away, shaking her head._

 _The other Dean blinked hard and fast before grimacing. "Can't handle the truth Gracie?" he asked coldly. "Well there it is."_

 _Grace just stood there before the man who was nothing but a shell. Dean rushed over, his throat clogged and tight but when he reached out for her, she shook him away._

 _"Call me when we head out," she whispered before rapidly backing away. She reached backwards for the door handle and swiftly disappeared through it._

 _The slam rang through Dean's ears but he hardly noticed. He was still struggling to comprehend the nauseating horror. It was like a knife was ripping through his chest, tearing out his heart and shredding it into ribbons as he regarded his future self with shock._

 _There was nothing which remained inside this other Dean and now he knew why._

 _Dean said one word to his future self. One word and one question which filled him with rage. "Who?"_

 _"Lucifer," the other Dean muttered darkly. "From what I heard, she was trying to save our baby brother until her dying breath. And when the damn bastard tortured her, Sam said yes."_

 _Dean picked up a stray knife and stabbed it hard into the wooden table. "Yeah that sounds like somethin' they'd do," he muttered. And then the grief was replaced with cold determination. His fingers flexed over the knife, the tendons in his wrist bulging as he gripped the handle hard. "I'm gonna save them."_

 _"You think I haven't already tried that? It didn't work," his future self-retorted. He placed his hands on the table before him and his head bowed low. "I lost them both. I tried to stop her from goin' but I couldn't. See that's the thing with our sister, she never wants to be saved."_

 _Dean's eyes stung and he blinked them away fast. Clearing his throat quickly, he demanded, "What else changed?"_

 _He wished he had never asked that question as the other Dean slumped into the chair which Grace had recently vacated and bowed his head. "Hope Mikaelson. She's dead."_

 _Dean's heart took another downwards turn. His jaw clenched as he replaced his grief with rage. "She was just a kid," he seethed._

 _"Didn't matter. Hope Mikaelson was a kid jam packed with power. And all too willin' to use it," the other Dean stated emotionlessly._

 _He clenched his hands tightly together in front of him and uttered, "She wanted to be useful. Wanted to save the world. Save her family. Kid took down a lot of demons too." He paused and his fingers went to his temple, rubbing away an incoming headache. "And then one day, Lucifer came stormin' into our old base, wearing the body of our brother, with an army of demons and croats."_

 _His eyes clenched shut, forcing the painful memories away and continued, "We lost a lot of good people that day. Including her. The devil thought she was his greatest adversary and in the end, Hope was no match for him. Least it was painless."_

 _Dean paced back and forth, refusing to believe the truth which was slapping him hard in the face. All he felt was numb. "What about Hayley," he asked hesitantly. "Where is she?"_

 _"Probably around the borders somewhere on patrol," the other Dean answered reluctantly. "I never see her unless there's a demon fight. She never comes to the base... doesn't want to hurt anybody I suppose... she can't shift out of her wolf form." He sighed. "I'd hazard a guess that she feels less as an animal, that day was probably too traumatising for her human body to handle."_

 _"So the rest of the originals..." Dean began but he didn't finish his question. He already knew the answer._

 _"When Hope was killed, we barely made it out in time. When the refuge went up in flames, her family was still inside. I don't know if they are alive or dead and it's too dangerous to go back and look. And as for Klaus Mikaelson, well, if he still breathes, whatever torture he is still sufferin' would be a picnic compared to the hell he would awaken too."_

 _Dean stared unseeingly at the wall, his face pale and his nausea rising._

 _His future self got to his feet. "I was cocky," he confessed, the guilt seeping all over his face. "Never actually thought I'd lose. But I was wrong. Dean. I was wrong. And everybody paid the price."_

 _Dean raised his head to look at him, his hands shaking and taken aback by the sudden raw anger and grief and hopelessness in his other self's eyes._

 _"So when Zach takes you back, say yes to Michael. And get our sister to say yes to Zadkiel. And then you end it all," the other Dean begged. He then turned round to pull the duffel bag over his shoulder, his voice low and full of regret as he finished, "because this life ain't a life worth livin'."_

 _Dean didn't answer apart from the subtle shake of his head and his future self paused before turning emotionless once more._

 _"It doesn't matter what I say does it? 'Cause you won't. 'Cause I didn't. Because that's just not us, is it." He grimaced and turned away._

 _"I'll find a way to fix it," Dean stated._ _"All of it."_

 _"Sammy and Gracie are lost causes. They all are. You'd better start preparin' now," the other Dean responded coldly and Dean sighed._

 _His future self was a man hardened to the trials of war. A man who had nothing left to lose._

 _"I'm not you," he finally replied. Not yet anyway. He pushed past his doppelganger who was standing as still as a statue and exited the cabin._

 _His green eyes scanned the camp and he found her almost immediately. Sitting on a decaying wooden bench with her hands clenched into fists._

 _He approached her. "Gracie?" he softly murmured when she made no move to acknowledge him. Dean just stood behind her, waiting silently, the two of them lost in their own thoughts._

 _Then she spoke as quietly as the calm wind. "I'm not gonna make it am I?"_

 _Dean inhaled a sharp breath, finding it almost hard to breathe as his throat clogged up. He sat down on the bench beside her, still overwhelmed by all the recent earth shattering revelations. He didn't know how much more he could take._

 _When she asked, he told her everything, knowing it was best not to hold back and once he had finished, she said nothing. He just patiently waited._

 _"I shouldn't be surprised right?" she finally murmured with a choked laugh. "It's the occupational hazard of our job. We all die young. Least it will be epic." She didn't seem scared but her body was tense. She was acting the exact way in which John had taught them all to if they wanted to block out their emotions._

 _Dean wrapped an arm around her shoulders and she slowly leaned into him, letting her eyes close. Dean could feel_ _his shirt dampening with the few tears she refused to show and he let her cry as he stared ahead with eyes of stone._

 _"Hey," Grace whispered into his shirt. "I thought you always said no chick flick moments."_

 _"I can make an exception, but just this once Gracie, can't have people think I'm going soft."_

 _She laughed quietly. "Now that would be the day." She slowly pulled away from him. "When we get back, I'm leaving," she stated._

 _"What?" Dean uttered, dread curling in the pit of his stomach._

 _"Everybody knows how far we would all go for each other. And in this future, I'm dead because of it," Grace explained sadly. "And it's not because we're martyrs like you once said. Because the truth of the matter is, we can't live without each other. Hell, we don't even have the first idea how to."_

 _She reached for his unresponsive hand which was hanging limp by his side and squeezed it gently. "You remember what you said to Sammy on the phone? We're each other's weaknesses. Hell, if either you or Sammy were ever in danger, I would bust my ass off to save your lives." Grace reached up and quickly wiped away a stray falling tear._

 _"You said we need to fight this on our own. And you were right," she muttered. "Maybe we're all better off at opposite hemispheres."_

 _She fell silent and let the words sink in. Helplessness flooded through Dean and he gritted his teeth at Grace's determined stance._

 _There had to be a better way._

* * *

Dean's room inside Hayley's safe house was nothing special. Nothing which stated home. No pictures. No keepsakes. Just bare cream walls with polished wooden floorboards. A few of Hope's drawings lay strewn on the surface of an antique chest of drawers... and a dagger was on the bedside table.

Dean picked the weapon up as soon as he entered his room and sank down onto the bed. He turned it this way and that as he examined it once again.

"Well, it seems like we're all mourning today."

Dean looked up to see Rebekah stepping curiously into his room. "My brother Kol is drowning in boobs and booze, grieving over a lost love and here you are, obsessing over one small dagger."

Dean's expression hardened as he turned back to scrutinise the weapon and Rebekah huffed before striding forwards, plucking it out of his hands.

"If you keep watching it you'll get a bloody headache," she chastised softly. "You say it belonged to your family but how do you know it isn't some replica?"

"That's the problem," Dean replied, rubbing tiredly at his eyes. "I've looked it all over... and the thing's legit." He caught a glimpse of the carving in the handle once more. The letter G and W sent a sharp ache through his chest. "It belonged to my sister."

Rebekah sensed his torment and lowered herself onto the bed beside him, thinking back to the hunter's courageous confrontation with Marcel. "If it's any consolation, I'm sorry. Although I don't fully understand it all, your siblings sounded like quite the heroes," she murmured, turning the dagger absentmindedly over in her hands to look at the initials.

"Just another few good people who were lost too soon," she whispered morosely.

Even now she still grieved for Finn, for Cami, for Davina. She wondered what the world would have been like if circumstances had been different.

Maybe in some alternate future she would have found what she always wanted. A man to love, to start a family with.

"Gracie and Sammy, they would have done better than I ever could," Dean responded quietly. He stood up.

His focus slid back to the dagger in Rebekah's hands once more and shook his head. He couldn't linger. And the more he thought about it rationally, the more he wanted to leave.

He had so many enemies. So many who would try to mess up his mind. He and his siblings had lost weapons in the past, it was logical to assume that someone was mentally torturing him for kicks.

"Maybe I should get back to my roots," he muttered.

"Hunting?" Rebekah pondered the implications for a moment before her mouth curved up. "Sounds like fun. When do we leave?"

Dean snorted and crossed over to the left side of his bed, grabbing a duffel bag and placing it on top of the bed. "What I do. It's dangerous," he said gruffly as he began to gather his things. "The monster's I've faced, they could possess or gank you in a second."

"You talk about facing monsters," Rebekah uttered. "I've been around for a thousand years and yet I've never encountered a monster much scarier than my brother or Marcel. So consider me curious." She stood up and crossed her arms, cocking her hip to one side. "Besides you could use an extra pair of hands."

 _The offer was certainly tempting,_ Dean mused. And she could hold herself in a fight... he sighed. He seemed to be a sucker for the bold, leggy blondes... and she had dodged death for a thousand years...maybe she wouldn't end up like Jo...

"Are you going to deny a girl?" she asked, tilting her head to the side and forming her lips into an innocent pout.

Dean smirked and stepped towards her, his decision made. Now he was finally in a more familiar territory. He leaned forwards and his lips brushed the shell of her ear. "I wouldn't want to do that," he whispered and Rebekah concealed her responding shudder as she mirrored his smirk.

The two of them needed a fresh start and for now, this was the best thing for the both of them.

Backing away, Dean turned to the chest of drawers and pulled them out, tipping his few items of clothing into the bag. "You gonna let your family know?" he questioned.

"I would rather not part on bad terms, my brother is not known for civil goodbyes," Rebekah muttered.

Although Nik had done better, she would rather not risk a potential threat or dagger to the heart. She supposed that centuries of experience still made her somewhat paranoid.

"What about you?" she enquired as she watched Dean carefully place Hope's drawings into his bag. "Any heartfelt tears of goodbye?"

Dean turned to his bedside table and pulled open the small drawer. His heart stuttered a moment and he hesitated. "Not my thing," he finally responded as he closed his hand over the small army man and the horsemen's rings. He placed them in his bag and zipped it up tight before turning to face her.

Rebekah straightened up and a small smile crossed her face. "Well then let's go, before they all notice."

* * *

Here it is! Hope you liked it! I am editing the next chapter so it will be up before the end of the week - in the meantime, please drop a review :)

 _Reviews:_

 _Nightingale2004:_ _Thank you so much! Hope you liked the chapter and the flashbacks which will be concluded next chapter! It will be up this weekend to make up for this longer wait :)  
Dark-Supernatural-Angel: I am so glad you are enjoying it! Marcel definitely deserved everything which Dean said. Klaus is beginning to understand a little bit more about Grace and the Winchesters too. More interactions with Dean and Rebekah at the end of this chapter! __Hope you liked the flashbacks and the next chapter will be up this week :)  
_ xenocanaan: _What Grace is experiencing is slightly different to Sam and it will be explained! Hope you liked the chapter :)  
AugustRrush: Hope you liked the chapter. I was on a roll with writing it these past two weeks so you'll get the second update this week!  
Guest: _T _he confrontation with Dean and Marcel was definitely needed, glad you liked it!  
ItzIzzieMonsta: Haha! I'm glad you liked the confrontation and that I wrote it well! _  
_Dean is still suffering but hopefully it wont be for too long! Haha can't save you, I am drinking diet coke to keep me up so I can post this update :D  
happinessinthedarktimes: Aww that means so much! I've been working on this chapter and the next one for the past two weeks so you'll get the next update this week!  
Lord - of Oceans - Poseidon: the supernatural vampires are briefly mentioned but now it's more focused on the Original's vampire :) Hope you liked the update  
Tara:_ _Thank you! It's up_ :D


	12. A Snapshot in Time

At a first glance, they couldn't be more different - a dangerous immortal who had gained a list of enemies due to his past brutality and a young girl who still gaped at the wonders of the world. An innocent girl who had managed to soften the heart of the monster.

They were Klaus and Hope Mikaelson. Father and daughter. They were walking through the forest side by side. And it was a picturesque scene.

"I painted on animal skins, mostly," Klaus was explaining to his intrigued daughter. "Bark, cave walls..."

Hope gasped. "You lived in a _cave_?"

"I lived in a _hovel_ , all of us crowded into two rooms," Klaus proclaimed, raising his hands for emphasis and his heart warmed at her responding smile. "It was actually nicer than it sounds. Though your Uncle Kol snored. Loudly, I might add."

Hope laughed, her sea blue eyes sparkling as she started to imagine the visage. "I bet it was cool," she replied, reaching for her father's hand and beaming when he helped her over a fallen tree trunk. "Always having other kids to play with."

Klaus smiled down at their joined hands, at that moment of trust before she let go and they continued to walk on. "It was cool, actually," he found himself agreeing. "But I still felt alone. Different from my siblings..."

Klaus paused as he recalled his family's past deeds. Over the past thousand years there had been betrayals, estrangements and feuds but in spite of it all, whenever a new threat arose, they would stand strong and fight it together. Klaus had once considered family a weakness. Now he found it to be one of his greatest strengths.

Quickening his strides to catch up with his daughter he continued, "For one thing, I loved art. I used to make my own paints from flowers and berries." He tilted his head to the side as he considered the small patch of land to his left which was blooming with reds, oranges and yellows. He pointed them out to her. "These orange ones are the most vibrant."

"I like orange," Hope chimed in as the two of them stopped to peer down at the vivid flowers. A flash of turquoise suddenly caught her attention and her expression saddened. "Oh, there's a butterfly," she whispered as she knelt down. "I think it's stuck."

Klaus crouched down beside her. "Yeah, it has a broken wing," he murmured.

Hope stared at the struggling butterfly for a moment longer. Then coming to a decision, she placed a finger to her lips, warning her dad to be quiet. "Shh. Don't tell mom or uncle Dean," she urgently whispered before biting her lip and looking down at her wrist. "They'll be mad at me."

She removed her bracelet with a hesitant hand and passed it over to him. Her eyes closed and she extended her arms, the palms of her hands facing forwards as she began to focus.

She felt the rush of magic hum through her veins and with a grin, she opened her eyes. She crossed her arms over her knees and watched contentedly as the butterfly fluttered away.

Klaus stared at his daughter in awe and slight apprehension. Once again, he was reminded of the immense power which she already wielded. He feared for her un-triggered werewolf gene and he vowed that it would never come to that.

Now they were both reunited, he would look out for her and ensure that she would never have to lash out. Never have to end a life and spend the rest of her days suffering with the subsequent regret.

In the end, he locked eyes with his daughter's hopeful ones and smiled. She fully returned the response for a second before a frown encompassed her face.

She chewed on her lip nervously and Klaus watched her with his brow furrowed. The original didn't understand this unexpected turn around in her emotions and the sight made him apprehensive. He couldn't stand to have her withdraw from him so soon.

"It's alright," he encouraged and Hope looked up at him, taking his open expression as confirmation before blurting her worries out.

"Please don't hate uncle Dean," she begged. When Klaus looked away from her and narrowed his eyes, she continued to persist, not noticing his ire. "I saw the way you looked at him before. He comes off angry but it's not his fault. He's just sad. He's been sad a while now."

She got into a more comfortable sitting position and lowered her head as she mumbled, "We're all he has left."

"His siblings..." Klaus began, facing her once more before trailing off, unsure of how to continue.

His anger faded into the background as he recalled how Dean Winchester had mentioned a sacrifice to Marcellus. The hunter had raged about torture and monsters. Klaus found that hard to believe, considering he had never come across a monster more powerful than himself but it begged the question...

How much darkness was his daughter aware of?

"Mom says that they are in a place far happier than this one but I know that she's lying to protect me. I know they're just as sad as he is." Hope bit her lip and her eyes watered. "They're hurting real bad and we can't save them."

"You were close with them," he said softly as he slowly began to realise the true extent of his daughter's devotion towards the family of hunters. Even if he didn't condone it, he would try for her. He placed a hand around her shoulders and she leaned into him.

"They were like family. They kept us safe."

She got to her feet and Klaus followed suit. When they reached the edge of the clearing, Hope grabbed his hand and led him back over to her drawing table.

"Gracie would have liked you," she murmured as she flicked through her art book once more. Locating the photo, she thrust it into her dad's hands. "Uncle Dean doesn't keep many, he says it hurts too much. He wanted to burn this one too but I didn't want to forget her."

Klaus however was in daze and he barely caught his daughter's last sentence. His lips parted, falling slightly agape as he gazed down at the picture. His thumb absentmindedly caressed Grace Winchester's face.

There was no mistaking her, from her ash brown hair to her blue grey eyes. So alight but deep within, they seemed to contain a heavy burden. A burden which was reflected across her brothers' faces.

Grace Winchester, the woman who had provided the means to save his family, had been his hallucination during his hell... and she was _stunning_.

* * *

Elijah was standing by the porch, his hands on his hips as he looked out over the expansive gardens and forestry. At a distance he could observe his brother and his niece, bonding as father and daughter should. Rebekah had been right. Niklaus had finally found his redemption.

When the footsteps against the wooden platform sounded from behind him, he didn't turn round. Yet that didn't stop the subtle twitch of his lips as she stopped beside him. "Let me guess. You want the world to disappear," he calmly assumed.

Only then did he brief her with an amused glimpse and Hayley rolled her eyes. "Not the whole world," she defended half-heartedly, finding herself unable to contain her grin. "You can stay. Hope, too. Dean will drink all the beer and Klaus can visit on the weekends, I guess."

Elijah smiled slightly as his head faced forwards once more and Hayley brushed a strand of her brunette locks behind her ear, the light-heartedness over for now. The guilt was returning with a vengeance and it was eating her up.

"I betrayed a lot of people over the last five years, Elijah," she uttered. "Killed people just to cover my tracks and keep Hope safe." She let out a cold laugh and bitterly added, "I was ruthless."

Elijah closed his eyes once before opening them, his oak orbs steel with resolve. "You were a Mikaelson. You did what you had to do," he responded simply.

She had become a Mikaelson but at what cost? What would her and her daughter's lives have been like had she not acted so coldly? So without remorse. The answer came easy to her lips. "The truth is, I'd... do it all again."

When his confused form turned to look at her, she whispered, "I told myself a hundred times that it was all for Hope, but maybe I did it for selfish reasons, too. When I wasn't with my daughter or worrying about the choices being made around me, all I could think about was _you_."

Elijah suddenly reached out, taking her hand in his own and Hayley's breath caught. He leaned against the porch railings and lifted her hand up, placing a kiss on her knuckles. Her brain almost melted at the burning orbs staring intently back at her but she needed to get this out. No matter what the potential cost would be to the Mikaelsons.

She needed to be better than ruthless now. To start setting an example for Hope.

"My friends sacrificed their lives for a better future. They wanted me to be happy and I don't want to disappoint them," she murmured. "But there's one of my kind in a barn, miserable and scared and she doesn't deserve to be there."

She had promised Keelin that after all this, she could walk free. Freya couldn't keep using her as a Guinea pig to find a different way to cure Marcel's bite. It simply wasn't right.

"Release her," Elijah commanded and Hayley balked.

"If Marcel finds you..." she warned.

"You can't do this forever," Elijah argued, speaking her thoughts aloud. "Your life is more than the salvation of the Mikaelson family. Now, trust me..." He looked into her desperate eyes as he sadly admitted, "You'll lose yourself."

* * *

How could she have appeared to him? How could he have created an apparition during his torment which fully imitated the resemblance of Grace Winchester?

Klaus forced the photo back down and reluctantly tore his gaze away from the photo. But no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't hide the tensing of his body or the gritting of his teeth. His four fangs were slowly sharpening and a vengeful gold sparked beneath the surface of his ocean orbs.

His wolf was almost beyond his control, tearing at his insides; his vampiric instincts working in tandem with the beast as they fuelled the man with rage towards whomever had done the Winchester girl harm. He craved to tear the killer to shreds, to bathe in the blood of her tormentors and revel in the screams for mercy.

Klaus snarled lowly before shaking himself out of it. The girl was dead, her corpse was presumably rotting in the ground somewhere and yet he had conjured her of all people when he needed a reprieve?

None of it made a lick of sense.

"What's wrong?"

Klaus turned to his daughter, slightly startled by the question but he had gathered enough time to hide away his features. "It's nothing sweetheart," he said softly before rapidly latching upon a safer topic and stated, "You mentioned that your mother is forcing you to conceal your magic."

Still watching him strangely, Hope slowly nodded, albeit reluctantly and turned her forlorn gaze back upon the bracelet clasped around her wrist. "Just until I get bigger and once I do, Freya will teach me real spells."

His lapse of control was now fully handled for the time being and Klaus placed his hands behind his back as he walked beside her. "I think you're doing rather well all by yourself," he confessed and was surprised to hear her sigh.

"I can't always control it so well. It scares me sometimes," she admitted quietly and Klaus instantly knelt down in front of her.

"You, love, are the daughter of Klaus Mikaelson," he declared, placing his hands upon upper arms. "You're going to be the greatest witch the world has ever seen. And nothing will scare you."

Hope tilted her head to the side as she regarded him with a smile. "I know what you are, you know." Klaus' undead heart faltered for a second and he paled but he had no time to dwell on it as his daughter continued, "The strongest in the world. Strong enough to keep all the bad things away."

Klaus' expression turned blank once more. His wolf rising in anger for a different reason this time. "What bad things?" he whispered, attempting to keep the dark demand at bay.

Hope shrugged innocently and explained, "Just bad guys. Monsters. People who are mean, selfish and angry."

"Nothing is going to harm my little girl," Klaus stated. "Nothing will even get close." And they would die screaming if they ever tried. He squeezed her arms lightly. "You're all that matters to me," he promised.

Hope stared at him for a second and in a sudden move, she had flung her arms around her dad's neck.

Klaus' heart leapt and his arms hesitated before quickly returning the hug. His eyes closed, feeling utterly serene.

And then he froze. His eyes snapped open and he pulled back. "You're trembling. Are you cold?" he uttered, letting his worry seep through.

"Yeah. I've been cold a while now," Hope whispered back.

"Well, let's get you inside then, eh?" Klaus offered with a smile. "You can show me your drawings."

Hope nodded and allowed him to lift her up. As her dad carried her towards the house, she glanced down at her quivering hands before inhaling a quiet calming breath and looking back up. Her face paled.

The blue light was back again. Extending through the forest like a deadly mist. Today she had been so happy to see her dad again and she didn't want everybody to worry. But she soon wouldn't be able keep it a secret from everyone for much longer.

Because whatever this thing was, it was bad. She needed to find Uncle Dean. She needed to tell him. He had faced all different kinds of monsters before.

But she didn't want to lose him. She didn't want to lose her dad or mom. She couldn't bear them going the same way Gracie and Sammy had.

She wanted to keep her family safe for as long as she could.

* * *

She couldn't stop running. Not for anything. Hayley had given her a chance to escape and she couldn't waste that. She didn't want any of this. All she had ever wanted was to live a normal human life.

Keelin sprinted across towards the bar and at the car park she stopped, panic flooding through her entire body. Her instincts were on edge and that could only mean one thing. She was being hunted.

Her shaking hand reached out to pull at the handle of the nearest car. It didn't open. As each breath quickened and her heart pounded uncontrollably in her chest, Keelin moved on to the next available vehicle.

She let out a small hysterical laugh as the door swung open with ease and she scrambled into the driver's seat. "Please, please, please," she muttered frantically to herself as she searched the interior of the car. A relieved breath escaped her mouth as her fingers closed over a metal key.

She jammed it into the ignition and twisted. The engine rumbled and the headlights flared. And Keelin's stomach turned as she stared at the figure though the windscreen.

Freya Mikaelson stood before her and her blank expression caused nothing but unequivocal fear in Keelin's mind but the wolf barely noticed it. Because right now, her determination to finally be free surpassed her notion of terror.

Freya extended her arm out and Keelin slammed hard on the acceleration. But the car wouldn't move. She watched horrified as the engine died.

Freya strode towards the car and grasped onto the door handle. Keelin swiftly grabbed it from the inside and pulled back, negating the force of Freya's attempts to get to her.

None of this was fair. Although she preferred to dampen down her wolf side, right now it was needed. Without conscious thought, Keelin growled and her irises glowed gold. She brought her legs up and close to her chest before pushing out. Her boots slammed against the car door and it flung open, sending Freya flying back.

She now had a leeway and she was taking it. Keelin leapt out of the car and began to sprint. She had only made it two cars down before white hot pain coursed through her head. She screamed out all of her agony. Tears dripping from her eyes, she crumbled to her knees.

She prayed for it to stop. She felt as though she was burning alive.

"I told you I can't let you go," Freya told Keelin dispassionately as she approached her quivering form. She flicked her hand, putting an end to the spell and looked down on the wolf who slowly turned round to face her. "So you have a choice. Come back with me, or I will make this hurt."

"Like this?"

Freya gasped as fire erupted from her lower back and the intensity of the pain caused her to collapse.

"Stabbed in the back, ooh that's _gotta_ hurt," the new voice said and Keelin stared agape at Freya who was breathing hard. Sweat was pouring over her skin in a slick sheen.

"See I don't like people who bring magic to a fight, witches always did disgust me," the voice continued and Keelin reluctantly stood up to face the attacker.

The tone was that of a female but the wolf couldn't make out the facial features from under the hood. The woman's body was slender and she walked lithely towards them.

She addressed Freya with disgust. "Your kind just have to keep wanting _more_. I do _one thing_ out of the kindness of my heart and a _bitch like you_ can't even accept it and show one _single ounce_ of gratitude."

Then she turned her attention to Keelin who swallowed. "I didn't sever a nerve or artery, my throws never miss," she explained clinically. "She'll bleed out slowly. Now you can run. And she won't be able to stop you."

"She'll die," Keelin whispered hoarsely but the woman just laughed.

"She has to die at some point. That's just the way the world works," she coldly replied. "It's better than her torturin' you, right?"

Keelin couldn't bring herself to answer. She was too shocked to move.

"The choice is in your hands now," the woman declared as she turned away. "Leave or stay. I honestly don't care which path you choose."

She walked away and Keelin made a move to run. But she couldn't. Because that wasn't the type of person she wanted to be. She was a doctor and saving people's lives came before everything else.

"I must be insane," she muttered as she ripped off a strip of her shirt before crouching down by Freya's side, placing pressure around the wound. The knife was still embedded but the woman was right. It wasn't serious. Not yet.

Keelin reached into Freya's coat pocket with a spare hand and pulled out a phone. She scrolled through the contacts before ringing a familiar name. It answered on the first ring.

"Hayley it's Keelin. I need your help."

She hung up after a hurried explanation and gazed down at Freya who was drifting in and out of consciousness. "Hold on," she whispered. Elijah and Hayley would be here in under a minute to save her.

As she waited, Keelin's eyes drifted down, her brow furrowing as she took in the handle. The letter W. engraved into the brass.

* * *

Not far from Hayley's safe house, there was a deserted road. A lone vehicle was driving down it when a dark shadow stepped out into the middle of the route, a large smirk adjoining his features.

The vehicle began to slow down and Kol Mikaelson shook his head, unable to contain his mirth. "Humans, always so predictable," he muttered. He stalked forwards through the darkness of the night and announced, " _Nice car_ , mind if I borrow it?"

The window rolled down and Kol stopped at the response.

" _Like hell_ you are takin' her. Go find your own damn car."

Narrowing his eyes, Kol flashed forwards and cursed at the familiar faces which met his own. He had been too immersed in the hunt that he had completely failed to miss the obvious.

Dean Winchester tapped his fingertips against the steering wheel impatiently whilst Rebekah Mikaelson was relaxing back into the passenger seat.

The blonde original sent the signature smirk of the Mikaelson family in the direction of her flabbergasted older brother. "Your taste in cars still hasn't changed, I knew you'd make us stop."

"Original vamps, so predictable," Dean muttered and Kol flushed red. He sent a glare towards his sister whose smirk just widened.

"What are you doing?" Kol questioned, having had quite enough of this strange team up against him.

"Well, I'm due an adventure and Saint-Tropez is as good a place as any," Rebekah replied innocently but Kol was undeterred.

"And we're taking the hunter?" he deadpanned, cocking his head to the side in a predatory way. "A road trip snack?"

"Try it sparkles, you wouldn't even stand a chance," Dean snapped back and Kol grinned. He did love a good challenge.

"We're taking _you_ actually," Rebekah corrected her brother. "Dean and I have an appointment up in the French Riviera..." She sent a side glance to the hunter. "Although I don't understand why flickering lights and cold spots classifies as a case," she finished, still not over her initial bewilderment.

"You'll know soon, believe me," Dean assured her.

The two of them then looked back at Kol who shrugged. "Fair enough, I'm up for a good killing," he airily proclaimed.

Dean looked down at the wheel, hiding his amusement. The original was going to be solely disappointed when he realised that their target was already dead.

When Kol reached for the door handle, the hunter's amusement disappeared in an instant and he held up a hand. "Ah ah, baby is my car, I'm driving," he asserted and Kol backed away, completely put out.

"Fair enough," he muttered before opening the back door and sliding into the back seat with a grimace. He leaned back as the hunter started the car and scanned the interior with mild boredom.

A tattered box on the seat to his left caught his attention and he pulled it towards him and began to flip through the cassette tapes, his curiosity slowly piquing. "I have to admit," he mused, "Your taste in music isn't too bad. Now these artists make this century for me."

"Finally," Dean muttered but all the occupants in the car could detect the subtle relief and admiration in his voice. "Someone who can actually appreciate the classics."

Rebekah laughed slightly, feeling the humour slowly beginning to diffuse through the tense car. But her humour was soon to be replaced by dread. Because that was when she looked to the road. "Dean!" she shouted.

Dean jerked the wheel to a sharp left, swerving the impala and barely missing the dark shadow in the middle of the road. He quickly killed the engine. "Dude, what the hell?" he muttered.

"I second that," Rebekah groaned. Her fingers reached up to touch the gaping wound on the bridge of her nose which had sliced open from the sudden jolting of the car. Her hand fell limply to her side as soon as she felt the cut healing.

"For God's sake," Kol growled. "All I want to do is leave this wretched place and we seem to get diverted every bloody time." He flung open the car door and disappeared, scouting the area in a flash.

"Something's wrong," Dean muttered, reaching into the back seat to grab his gun. He pushed the door open, sliding out of the car before once again slamming the door shut behind him.

"I can't hear Kol," Rebekah whispered and Dean swore.

"Son of a bitch," he groaned and the two of them surveyed their surroundings with a critical eye. It didn't take him to long to find what was wrong with the picture and he nodded in the direction of five o'clock. "Over there," he stated and Rebekah grasped his wrist.

She flashed them forwards and they both stared.

Kol's form lay unconscious on the tarmac and in an instant, Dean understood. This wasn't an accident.

It was an ambush.

He and Rebekah barely had time to process when it came out of nowhere. There was a swift movement behind him, a bright blue light and the next thing Dean knew was darkness.

* * *

 _Grace was stuffing item after item into a small bag with forced indifference but inside her mind, she was screaming._

 _She didn't want to think. She didn't want to care. This was by far the hardest thing she had ever done and it was killin' her inside._

 _"You don't want to do this," came a voice from the door and the female Winchester sighed and turned around._

 _"Yes I do. You didn't see it Hayls, you weren't there," she whispered. What Lucifer had done to the world... he had destroyed it and it was all because the king of hell had tortured her to get her baby brother's admission._

 _She had to stay away from her brothers. There were no other options left. She and her siblings were the true vessels of the three archangels no matter what. They wanted the Armageddon to start and end with her family and she would be damned if she let that happen because she had let her love cloud her judgement._

 _Zipping up the bag, she pulled it onto her shoulder. "If I don't, there ain't gonna be a future worth livin'."_

 _Too many would suffer. Too many good people would die. Including that young innocent girl in the other room who was completely oblivious to the present state of affairs._

 _"If we all stay away from each other... no contact... there's a fair chance that we might all survive," she whispered._

 _"This isn't right," Hayley denied and Grace could see her eyes watering. "You deserve so much better. All of you."_

 _"It's the curse of being a hunter," Grace responded simply as she stepped out of her room and closed the door behind her. "It doesn't matter what we deserve. We just have to do what's right."_

 _She descended the stairs, passed the bookshelves and opened Bobby's front door. Her face paled as Cas and Bobby turned to face her. They said nothing, just moved aside and Grace's heart stopped. From behind her, she could hear Hayley's quiet gasp but Grace ignored it entirely._

 _Because nothing in the whole damn world could cause her to take her eyes off the scene in front of her._

 _"I don't care. You're my brother, Sammy. And I'll fight for you."_

 _Grace's bag fell out of her limp hands and Dean turned his emerald gaze her frozen form._

 _"See, we're family," he explained, looking directly into her eyes. "And that means we don't get to quit on each other."_

 _Grace stepped forwards, uncertainty clouding her features. This could backfire immensely in their faces and she knew her brothers understood that but they didn't care. And seeing Sam back with them once more, Grace realised that she didn't either._

 _Her little brother's nervous look was all it took to make her heart melt and she instantly caved. She ran forwards and wrapped her arms around him._

 _"Welcome home Sammy," she whispered and he let out a small laugh before his arms encircled her smaller frame. "I'm sorry you didn't get out of huntin'."_

 _"I'm not," he replied quietly and Grace closed her eyes, content._

 _At the sound of Bobby's door opening, the two siblings pulled back to see Hope Mikaelson bounding towards them. Grace hung back by Dean as Hope came to a stop before Sam._

 _"You're back," she stated although it seemed more like a question from the subtle tilt of her head._

 _Sam cleared his throat and sent an uncertain glance towards Dean who nodded. "Erm yeah," he replied. "Yeah I am."_

 _Hope scrutinised him with narrowed sea blue eyes before walking forwards and wrapping her tiny arms around his waist. "Okay, now please don't leave again."_

 _"I won't," Sam promised, returning the hug. Hope then pulled back with a beam before turning to the female Winchester, unable to contain her excitement._

 _"Gracie, come see what I've learned!" she pleaded and without waiting for an answer, she closed her hand around Grace's and tugged her away._

 _"She's becoming more powerful," Castiel murmured as he observed the young girl and Dean looked on._

 _"That's what I'm afraid of," he muttered to himself. Nobody heard him. The recent trip had shaken him and Gracie up bad._

 _In a future, five years from now, Hope Mikaelson was dead and it was all because she had wanted to join in on the fight. That wasn't goin' to happen now. He didn't want that kid's powers becoming a homing beacon for monsters like Lucifer._

 _The green-eyed hunter refused to have that on his conscience._

 _"She's controlling it so well," Hayley responded, watching her daughter proudly and completely unaware of Dean's current turmoil. "Think it's being round here. It makes her happy." She then turned to him and hesitantly asked, "How bad was it?"_

 _"How bad was what?" Sam questioned, his brows lowering into a worried line and he demanded, "Why did you call me back, Dean?"_

 _"Long story," Dean replied as he grabbed two beers from the side and passed one over to his brother. "The point is...maybe we are each other's Achilles heel. Maybe they'll find a way to use us against each other, I don't know. I just know we're all we've got. More than that. We keep each other human."_

 _He trailed off and watched as Hope conjured a flower which began to dance through the air. Grace was smiling as she lifted the kid up onto her shoulders and the flower rose higher and higher._

 _"We're gonna change the narrative," Dean uttered._

 _"Alright now, all of you get in here, you're killin' me with all this emotion."_

 _Dean smirked and turned round to appraise Bobby who was wheeling towards them._

 _"And yet you have a camera," Grace called out as she strode over with Hope by her side, swinging their joined hands back and forth. She acknowledged the object in Bobby's hand with a raised eyebrow and the older hunter seemed sheepish._

 _"Shut up, you're crashin' here for free," he gruffed half-heartedly before adding, "and stealin' my beer." He sent a pointed look to Dean who just grinned and took an exaggerated swig._

 _"We're not doing this Bobby," Dean stated when he placed his beer down and Sam joined his brother's side._

 _"I second that," he declared._

 _"What they said," Grace said as she came to stand by Dean's right._

 _The three siblings crossed their arms and stared down Bobby who just turned his wheelchair around and retreated back to his house._

 _Dean, Grace and Sam all shared a momentarily sigh of relief before Bobby's voice shouted out once more._ _"You three idjits better be inside before I get to my gun!"_

 _"He's joking... I think," Grace muttered but her arms were unfolding and her defiance was quickly fading._

 _"Maybe we shouldn't risk it," Sam agreed. They both knew better than to test the brewing wrath of Bobby Singer._

 _The two siblings then turned to their older brother who looked taken aback at their surrender. Waiting for him to make the final verdict. He leaned against the Impala with crossed arms and shook his head. "Hell no."_

 _"Please Dean," a voice urged and the three hunters turned to Hope whose neck was craned back as she gazed up at them with wide and innocent eyes. "I want something to show to my dad when I see him again," she begged._

 _Grace smiled softly, and replied, "I suppose one tiny photo couldn't hurt." Hope seemed to shine with happiness and Grace waited until the young girl had entered the house before she turned to Dean and continued with a grin, "If my big brother decides to get up off his ass and lighten up."_

 _"Yeah Dean, lighten up," Sam mimicked his sister who shoved him back lightly. Dean watched them both enter the house, his foot tapping agitatedly. It took less than ten seconds for his arms to flop to his sides in defeat._

 _"Aww, come on," he complained before reluctantly jogging up to the house, his feet dragging all the way. Cas' voice was the first thing he heard when he entered._

 _"How does this contraption work? I don't understand how a rectangular box can take an image of a frozen moment in time."_

 _Dean rolled his eyes but his lips twitched. He joined them in the living room and when he smiled at the flash, it was full of determination. He had seen what the world would become and he refused to become his doppelganger._

 _Now it was up to him and his siblings to change it. To make their own futures... because they had no other choice._

 _And hopefully, in the end, this future would be a better one._

* * *

Dean groaned as he slipped back into consciousness. The first thing he noticed was that his hands were bound and for a split second he was completely disorientated.

Then that faded and everything suddenly made perfect sense.

"You know, kidnapping a hunter is a bold move, man," he proclaimed, sitting straight back against the chair, his green eyes scanning his four abductors.

They all seemed completely human but Dean had enough experience by now to know that their forms were just a disguise. After all, there wasn't one single human who was out to get his family. Not since he and his siblings had faked their deaths a couple of years back.

"And I think that you're all talk," one of the attackers sneered. He prowled forwards and continued to jeer. "All it takes is one tiny prick," he stated as he fisted his hand into Dean's hair and yanked his head to one side, exposing his neck. "Right _here_ and there will be nothing left in your brain but mush."

Dean watched a spike protrude out of the man's wrist and he renewed his struggles. He refused to believe that this was the way he was going to be ganked.

A loud bang pierced through the air and the grip on Dean's hair slackened. He heard the thud of the body as it hit the ground and he stared at the corpse briefly before his gaze glimpsed upwards to see a woman step into the room.

"I must have missed the invitation to the wraith party," she announced before aiming her gun once more. "Lucky I brought these silver bullets isn't it?"

Dean's lips curved up and Grace Winchester sent him a small grin back before her eyes flashed back towards the three remaining supes in the room.

They all retreated back a step as they observed the warmth in her persona instantly disappear and be replaced with nothing but cool menace and resolution.

"You see here, assholes. No one dicks with my brother but me."

* * *

In a dark underground cellar, three figures were strung up to an overhead beam by their wrists. Their bodies were limp, unconscious, unmoving.

And they were being watched.

A tattooed man observed the figures for a moment before prowling forwards. His cold grey eyes glowed a vivid sapphire and his tattoos began to morph and extend down his arms.

He reached the one in the middle and placed a glowing blue fingertip to the unconscious man's temple whose eyelids fluttered slightly before all movement ceased once more.

A sneer twisted across his lips and his shining blue eyes faded back to grey he backed away to triumphantly appraise his unconscious prey.

The last Winchester and two originals. Now this really _was_ his lucky day.

* * *

Here it is. Hope you enjoyed it! Till next time :)

 _Reviews_

 _Kal824: Don't worry, __I loved that moment between Klaus and Rebekah in the show so_ _that scene is still coming! Hope you liked the chapter :)  
Nightingale2004: They were flashbacks based on an episode in supernatural season 5 :D. Haha, I kind of made it up with an appearance this chapter! The ending of one of the next one or two chapters is going to set things into motion - you'll know which one when you read it ;). That means so much to write something you all enjoy - hope you liked the update!  
Dark - Supernatural - Angel: Double dose of Dean is always good! Haha, that future was pretty bad - I wanted to show how Grace and Sam's sacrifice affected the Mikaelson family for the better too :D. I love writing those scenes between Hope and Dean, it shows just how much she looks up to him! So Rebekah, Dean and Kol teamed up but it has backfired... the next chapter is an altered version of a creature Dean faced in season 2 of Supernatural which made me cry so I just had to add it in :D. It's going to test Dean's, Kol's and Rebekah's limits that's for sure!  
LovelyDeadlyLie: That means so much, thank you! Hope you liked the chapter :D  
AugustRrush: I'm so glad you liked it! Hope you enjoyed this one too :)  
xenocanaan: It's coming... ;). Klaus definitely acted with a subtle rage this chapter. I hope you liked it!  
SilmarienU: Thank you! Everything is slowly falling into place, hope you enjoyed the chapter :D  
jynxieminxie: Thank you! Haha Rebekah and Dean with a bit of Kol thrown in... and then they were ambushed. They are about to face something which Dean encountered in season 2 of Supernatural and it's definitely going to test them! Klaus and Hope's moments were always so adorable, I love writing them! Klaus now knows about Grace and he definitely wasn't too happy. Everything is going to start linking in now, hope you enjoyed the chapter!  
Aliana . Gabriella . Winchester . 17: It's here! Quicker update this time - hope you liked it!  
Tara: Glad you liked it! Dean and Rebekah are so easy to write and now Kol has been thrown in with them to face their abductor in the next chapter! It's going to test them to their limits! Hope you enjoyed this chapter :)  
happinessinthedarktimes: Haha Dean, Rebekah and Kol would have been chaos but they never got the chance. Now they are going to have to figure out what has happened to them... if they can ;). Hope you liked the update!_


	13. Almost Paradise

_**Here it is! Hope it makes up**_ _ **for the wait!**_

* * *

"The way I see it, there are three ways in which this can go," Grace announced with a casual air as she leaned against the nearest wall and steadily reloaded her gun, completely unphased to the venomous glares of the predators around her.

"One, you let my brother go, we forget about this whole little misunderstanding and we all go home happy."

A ripple of wariness cascaded round the room.

Grace continued to speak, her voice neutral but her coal blue eyes glittered as they stared down at the floor. There was subtle enjoyment behind that cold exterior.

An _anticipation_.

"Two, I step aside and you run with your tails between your legs." She shrugged with an innocent quirk to her lips. "And who knows? Maybe some of you will make it past Sammy who is waitin' outside as we speak, just itchin' to gank you."

Her gaze snapped up and the wraiths flinched. Waiting in trepidation for her final verdict.

"Or _three_ ," she whispered silkily. "You fight _me_... you fight my _brother_... and you all _die_."

The sound of the faint click managed to deafen the ears of everybody in the room. Dean relaxed back against his chair and grinned at the increasing wariness in the eyes of his captors.

It was no secret what they were all thinkin'. Everybody in the room all knew how this little conversation was gonna end.

"I think this makes things _very_ simple for you," Grace stated, a small tilt at the corner of her mouth. She extended the gun, her finger poised steadily over the trigger and all eyes were gingerly drawn to the weapon. "So fellas..." She cocked her head to the side with mild curiosity. "What's it gonna be?"

Shivers rippled their flesh as the monsters shifted. Unsure.

One bolted, scrambling for the door. His shaking hands desperately jiggled the handle and flung it open. The wooden slab crashed against the wall with a loud bang before he fled without one single parting glance. The others eyed his escape intently whilst Grace and Dean watched on, completely entertained and waiting patiently for their decision.

When Grace cleared her throat, it was all the incentive they needed. They darted from the room until only one remained. He stood tall. Facing the two Winchesters with an undisguised rage.

He rushed forwards and threw out a clenched fist. Grace swiftly ducked under the extended spike, the tip barely missing her flesh. She pivoted around and raised her arm. The back of the gun connected with her attacker's head with one precise blow, sending him crumpling to his knees.

"Did you honestly think you would make it out alive?" Grace questioned with an amused eyebrow raise towards the groaning monster at her feet. "With my dexterity with a gun, Dean's brutal aim and Sammy's swift reflexes, I'd give you a 3.7% chance of survival."

She paused for a second before repositioning her gun at the wraith's temple.

"Let's face it," she whispered icily as her prey quivered. "When you are up against three Winchesters... you really don't stand a chance."

The gun crack sounded loud and the wraith dropped to the ground with a soft thump. Grace stood dispassionately over his broken corpse before her gaze flickered to the door where the echoes of terrified shouts could be heard.

"Morons," she muttered with a soft smirk as faint gunfire ricocheted off the walls.

"You almost had me goin' there for a second, Gracie," Dean uttered as his sister approached him with a soft smile and began fumbling with the knots lashing him to the chair. "Though that for a moment, you were gonna let them all walk."

The bindings around him loosened and he rubbed his sore wrists as he slowly got to his feet.

"John taught us better than that," Grace replied with a small hint of resentment towards their late father. She looked up at him with a disbelieving brow. "And how dare you doubt me. We're doing what we do best."

"Savin' people," Dean finished off her sentence proudly and Grace shrugged with a small smile.

"Savin' people," she agreed before her gaze drifted down. "No matter the cost."

The green eyed Winchester paled. His chest tightened with a pain so strong, he almost buckled to the floor. He gritted his teeth and clenched his jaw, waiting for the next onslaught.

But nothing came. The ache had gone almost soon as it appeared. Feeling no need to question it, he straightened up. The last thing he needed was his little sister worrying over him some more.

A low moan to the right caused the two siblings to whip around and Grace's smile fell. She immediately sprang into action and rushed forwards.

Dean's forehead creased as his sister knelt down beside the form of the young woman who was beginning to stir. She gently tilted her head to the side. Checking the flesh just beneath the ear.

A few tense seconds ticked by before she sent a relieved glance in her brother's direction. Dean let out a low exhale. The skin was unblemished. She would be just fine.

As they waited for her to drift back into consciousness, Grace stayed close whilst Dean retreated a step back. Not wanting to partake in the emotional crap.

"It's all alright," Grace soothed as the woman lurched up and glanced around wildly, her body shaking with involuntary tremors. "You're safe now."

"Who are you people?" she quaked, her face pale. Grace shared a fleeting glance with Dean before turning back to her.

"We're the people who hunt the monsters."

The woman drifted her stricken gaze back and forth between the two siblings. Searching for jest, some kind of rationalisation relating to her recent quandary.

When their expressions never changed and their eyes never glittered with sparks of humour, a hysterical laugh escaped her lips. Her eyes slowly rolled back into her head and her body dropped to the floor.

Grace sighed and slowly withdrew her comforting hand. She rose to her feet and backed up to stand by her brother's side. The two of them absentmindedly contemplated the woman's unconscious form.

"Sometimes I forget that some people just can't handle it," Grace commented and Dean rubbed his chafed wrists with a harsh grumbled reply.

"Yeah well some people are just too damn lucky. She'll go back to her peaceful apple pie life and this will all end up being some crap ass nightmare."

Grace looked up at him. Surveying him calmly for a moment before her expression softened into mused thought. "Peaceful apple pie life?" she questioned before gently laughing it off. "I'd rather have freedom than peace."

 _What would you rather have?_

 _Peace?_

 _Or freedom?_

The older Winchester froze. A strange shiver of unease chilled his spine at the disembodied voice scratching inside his mind. It passed through him like smoke; the feeling hitting him hard before disappearing into thin air.

But the transient and agonised emotion lingered and Dean acted on it without conscious thought. He took a step forwards and with a whispered, "Come here," he pulled his sister into his arms.

Grace stood still for a passing second before flinging her own arms around him. "Wow," she laughed incredulously. "Dean Winchester is hugging me and it ain't the end of the world. I should save your ass more often. It'll be like livin' in a chick flick."

"Shut it," Dean grumbled back and Grace relaxed into his hold for a moment with the remnants of a humoured smile still covering her face. One which got larger as the seconds ticked on.

"You know," she whispered before trailing off into a theatrical pause. "You're kind of suffocating me here."

"Grace. Just shut it."

His sister laughed softly and the sound was like music to his ears. He closed his eyes, revelling in the peace for one small moment. A moment which was blown into shards as the door swiftly swung open once more.

The wooden frame crashed into the brick wall with a bang as a figure stormed in. His large footsteps caused the floorboards to creak under the overdramatic exerted pressure.

Sighing, Dean pulled away from his sister to face the newcomer. And his heart clenched.

Sam Winchester's arms were crossed as blue grey eyes bored accusingly into the mirrored colour of his sister's gaze. "You sent them all out for me to deal with?" he accused her before turning his focus to Dean. "While the two of you were in here. _Hugging_."

"Not that one," Grace retorted with a small lip quirk as she tipped her head towards the corpse in the far corner of the room. At Sam's one raised eyebrow she casually explained, "He got on my nerves. Besides Dean was about to get Shish Kabobed. I had a hunch that you'd be fine without backup."

"You risked my _life_ on a hunch?" Sam's humoured disbelief coated his voice and Grace rolled her eyes before approaching him.

"You're Sam fucking Winchester. I had every faith you'd handle them."

A surprised laugh from the youngest Winchester echoed through the air and Dean watched his siblings' light-hearted banter through an unseeing gaze. His surroundings blurred around him as his chest continued to throb. When his throat began to tighten, he blinked hard.

A single tear dripped down his face.

"Dean, you okay?"

Shaking himself out of it, Dean turned to answer his little brother. "I..." he broke off. He _was_ okay... wasn't he? "I have no idea," he finally uttered, shocked to hear his own voice break.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Grace whispered. Concerned smoky blue eyes observed him but Dean just smiled.

He placed a soft kiss to her forehead and murmured, "Nothing Gracie, I'm good... I'm really, _really_ good."

For the first time in a long time he felt completely unburdened.

Utterly unburdened and _free_.

* * *

"Tell me the story again mom. _Please,_ " Hope Mikaelson begged and Hayley Marshall Kenner paused, her hands hovering over the silken blankets. How could she deny her little girl anything?

"Which one tonight sweetie?" she whispered softly as she gently resumed her progress in tucking her daughter beneath the sheets. "The Majestic King or the Wayward Siblings?"

Hope snuggled down. " _Their_ story," she whispered in response. Wide ocean eyes stared tiredly up at her mother who had perched herself on the corner of the bed, hands folded neatly in her lap.

"Once upon a time there were three courageous siblings who lived their lives on the road," Hayley began softly, her voice like a quiet whisper in the dark room. "They were as mortal as any human could be and yet there were forces far darker which opposed them. Which threatened to tear their bond apart."

Hope watched her mother silently, completely enraptured by the words which echoed in her ears.

"See this family was cursed to hunt monsters. To save the innocents from these ruthless beings which purged our world," Hayley whispered. "They called these beings... the supernatural."

The dark haired hybrid watched her daughter's frame shudder with a fond smile. No matter how many times she reiterated this tale, Hope's response was always the same.

Attentive, afraid and intrigued.

"Now I suppose creatures like us should have been afraid too," she admitted with a small smile in remembrance. "But we know the truth behind their story. Because we met these siblings. And we survived. Because in you they saw light." Hope beamed with pride as Hayley shifted her position to lean back against the headboard beside the young girl's small form. "They kept us safe from the world they had brought us into and in doing so we learned their story."

"We learned that everything they did was in the name of family," she declared. "They slaughtered the monsters which stalked the night so innocent families would never share the same horrendous fate that the siblings were made to endure."

Hayley trailed off and inhaled a steadying breath. She didn't notice how her hands had started to quiver. As the hardest part of this story was approaching.

"The three siblings were forced to make the ultimate sacrifice," she said, her voice almost inaudible now to the untrained ear. "Two were lost and wrought with sorrow, the third sibling was forced to live on, plagued with his memories of a better life. They shattered the ultimate bond of family to save every man, woman and child from destruction."

A tear dripped down Hope's face and Hayley let her snuggle against her form.

"But their sacrifice was not in vain," she promised. "They wanted us to live. To follow in their footsteps to be as brave and as strong as they were. To carry on living so that we may finally find our happily ever after."

Hayley left the sentence hanging in a remorseful silence before she finally finished, "Whoever or wherever that may be."

"Will Dean ever be able to move on?" Hope whispered sadly and Hayley released an unheard sigh.

She could still hear his nightmares at night. Still heard his yells out loud, begging for his siblings to run, to turn away from their looming deaths. It punctured a hole in her heart every time he woke her.

But she never once went to offer him comfort. She didn't want to squander his pride. Instead she lay awake, staring blankly up at the ceiling until silence descended upon the house once more.

Truth be told, no matter how hard she tried to convince herself, she knew deep down that Dean Winchester would never be able to heal. He had tried to move on in front of them but it was all a charade. But she knew that he would keep on trying. To keep his promise to _them_.

"It's what they would have wanted," Hayley finally muttered.

Hope sank back against her pillows and blinked lethargically. Fighting the pull of sleep as she forced herself to whisper, "Do you think I could be just as brave?"

Hayley's breath caught, the instincts to protect her child intensifying once more. After everything they had been through, it was getting harder and harder to keep her safe.

"I have no doubt," she reluctantly admitted. "You are strong Hope." She absentmindedly ran her fingers through Hope's auburn hair. "As long as there are people to vanquish the monsters, then maybe one day, the world will be healed and we will no longer be afraid."

Hope nodded and her eyelids slowly began to flutter closed. "Night mom," she mumbled, a small yawn escaping her lips.

Hayley waited for a few seconds longer before she pressed her lips against Hope's forehead. "Night my sweet girl," she whispered. Hope didn't reply, too lost in the realm of unconsciousness. Hayley watched her sleep serenely.

"That's rather the invigorating tale you told our littlest wolf."

Hayley whipped around. Engrossed in her daughter, she had completely missed him enter the room. He leaned languidly against the door frame with arms crossed, his head tilted curiously to the left.

She decided to indulge in his noticeable need for answers. "She likes the idea of good triumphing over evil. The heroic story of a family who protects each other til the end."

"And yet they still left."

Hayley's head shot up but Klaus wasn't looking at her.

Instead the original gazed unseeingly out of the small bedroom window as he murmured, "Both my younger siblings. I suppose I shouldn't be surprised," he admitted with a quiet growl. "Kol always was a selfish git but _Rebekah_..." He paused, blinked hard and inhaled in a deep breath before finally turning to face her. "She should have parted with me."

Hayley sighed and being careful not to jostle her sleeping daughter, she slowly got to her feet. "Dean's gone too," she whispered. And truth be told she wasn't surprised. She hadn't been naive enough to not see the signs.

Seeing her and Hope finally reunited with their family would have reminded him all too well of the siblings he had lost. And as for goodbye... well... Dean didn't say goodbye. He never did. He saw it as a psychological curse.

Last time he told her goodbye, his siblings were killed.

Didn't mean that she wasn't pissed with him.

"With my dear sister no doubt," Klaus uttered with barely concealed ire. "If he's filled her head with deluded fantasies of freedom, I'll kill him - or perhaps I'll compel him to chew out his own tongue. Prevent him from sticking it down Rebekah's throat."

Hayley knew this was coming. Despite the sacrifice he had made to redeem his actions in the eyes of his family, Klaus still saw enemies everywhere. He had endured torment, missed out on five years of his daughter's life and now he was taking his misplaced rage out on the one person in the vicinity whom he still saw as a threat.

She couldn't condone that.

Hayley clenched her hands together tight on her lap in her attempt to quench her own anger.

"Oh for god's sake, you need to put your issues with him to one side Klaus," she hissed. "How many times are we going to have this conversation to convince your paranoid, _deluded_ self? I get it, the Winchester family has evaded you every step and turn but guess what? Dean's _parents_ are _dead_. His _siblings_ are _dead_. His _family_ is gone. It's just him now. He poses no threat to anyone."

A sudden rustle of material caused Hayley and Klaus to swiftly fall into a tense silence. The two of them watched warily as Hope shifted in her sleep. In an attempt not to wake her, Hayley inhaled and exhaled steadily to control her angered breathing.

"Your daughter calls him _uncle_ ," she uttered. "He's her family and you don't have to like it, _hell_ , you don't have to agree with it but that's the way it is now. And it's never gonna change."

"What is it about them that invokes your unwavering loyalty?" Klaus quietly demanded and Hayley's reply was soft.

"Hope sees their ghosts in your family." She gracefully stood up to face him fully. "You remind her of them. The bond they shared was as powerful as your promise of Always and Forever."

And he still didn't know everything. What they have been through. All this could have ended so differently. In another future their daughter was dead. The Mikaelson family lost.

Because of what the Winchester siblings did, that unspeakable future never came to pass.

They were alive because of Grace and Sam. Their actions came without hope for reward. They were prepared to end their own lives so the course of the world would remain certain. So that their big brother, Dean Winchester, would one day find some kind of peace in the remnants of the life he had left.

It was sad. It was tragic and it was _heroic_.

Because what was the true meaning of love without sacrifice?

"I will not have this conversation again," she stated as she walked towards the door. "I know you are worried about Hope's mortality around him but we kept her out of all that crap. The last thing Dean would ever do is hurt her." She allowed him to absorb it all before hitting him with the final blow. "But he isn't her substitute father either."

Klaus inhaled a sharp breath and looked away. The seconds ticked by. All was silent. And then he finally broke it.

"I saw _her."_

Hayley regarded him with furrowed brows but his attention was elsewhere. Like he was staring at some imaginary spectre she couldn't see.

His hand slipped into his pocket and withdrew a worn and folded piece of paper. At the crease he opened it. "Towards the end I found solace," he explained and Hayley was almost taken aback at the soft lilt to his tone. "With her."

He passed over the paper and Hayley's breath caught. Her hands quivered as she stared unseeingly down at the photo, unaware of Klaus words enveloping her from every angle.

"In my moments of pure torment she appeared to me," he uttered, cerulean orbs glittering with remembrance, a small curve to his lips. "She brought me back, Hayley."

Hayley stared down at the photo once more, blinking hard in an attempt to push back the tears which threatened to fall.

" _Impossible_ ," she croaked. Her gaze flitted over the image of herself and paused on her daughter's innocent and beaming face.

A small smile tugged at Hayley's lips as her eyes then roamed over Bobby and Cas to finally rest on the Winchester siblings. To Dean… to Sam and finally… to Grace.

She could see the cool resolution behind their smiles. The thought of the hell they had yet to face.

More and more evidence was cropping up with each passing hour. Another knife had shown up on the scene when she healed Freya and reassured a shaken Keelin.

Another Winchester knife.

The mystery was thickening but she refused to turn her head. To even consider the possibility. Not when there were shapeshifters, revenants and demons still out there who could use Grace and Sam's faces as mental torment.

"I wish it could be different but it isn't," she whispered to herself, just loud enough for Klaus to hear. "Grace Winchester is dead."

She wouldn't tell Dean of this either. She refused to tear down the slowly healing pieces of his heart on the mere off chance that Klaus had hallucinated his sister. Because she and Dean both knew that there was no escaping Lucifer's cage. Not even for a Winchester.

Down in the cage, being a Winchester was simply a free pass for more pain.

Hayley's eyes watered. "She's still suffering," she croaked, feeling the familiar sting of tears beneath her eyes. "Grace and Sam are suffering in eternal agony. And it will never stop." She turned away.

Missing the way Klaus' expression contorted into an unfathomable fury.

But his voice which drifted through her ears was eerily calm. "Nevertheless, she saved our family. It seems I owe her a debt."

Hayley stopped in her tracks and closed her eyes. She knew exactly what he was insinuating. With her form slightly hunched, she braced her hand shakily against the doorframe as she gathered her composure. However hard she tried, the wound just never closed.

"This is something she can't be saved from," she whispered before swiftly exiting the room.

Klaus Mikaelson's gold eyes glinted in her wake.

* * *

"Alright. Thank you." Sam Winchester hung up the phone and looked to his prying siblings. "So apparently Lori Sorenson walks into her room. Doesn't come out. Roommate finds her dead at the scene, phones the sheriff then hangs herself moments later. But get this, they found no fingerprints and no DNA on the noose. And the door was locked from the outside."

Grace relaxed back against her seat. "So what we got?" she questioned, her eyebrows lowered in thought. "Casper in bedroom with the rope?"

"Same M-O. That's the third one this month," Dean considered as he pressed down hard on the gas and turned the wheel. "Gracie's right. Seems like we've got a typical haunt on our hands."

Sam nodded in agreement before his brow furrowed. "You know, if I hack into the database and cross reference all similar files against cold cases over the decades..."

"It'll lead us back to the point of origin," Grace finished off his sentence. She leaned forward and mockingly patted her younger brother on the shoulder. "Smart thinkin' college boy."

"That was _one time_."

Dean's head slowly inclined. His foot lifted and the Impala steadily began to slow. He could hear his siblings talkin' in the background but everythin' was dampening until all was silent.

It was to the right in the distance. Snaking off the beaten track. A winding path overrun by shadow, mist and trees. All around him, the edges of his surroundings blurred into merging, unidentified colours as the road drew him in. Further and further until nothing else existed.

Strange incomprehensible whispers echoed in his mind the longer he stared. And then it rose up within him. Some strong ass craving to wrench the Impala around.

And follow the path. See where it led.

He clenched the steering wheel tight, his knuckles paling to a stark shade of white in an attempt to override his unyielding yearning.

"She's gonna kill you," Grace commented jubilantly from the back seat and her voice brought Dean back into focus. Jerking slightly against the seat, his hands flexed against the wheel before his body relaxed. His recent lapse long since forgotten.

Despite his sister's jovial warning of the threat, his lips tilted up. He floored the gas and Baby began to gather speed, reducing the distance between him and the destination.

How they had once spent all their lives travellin' the road, he would never know. He never knew how elated he would feel at the thought of actually havin' somewhere to return to.

Somewhere stable.

A _home_.

The impala slowed to an effortless halt outside the long driveway. As soon he killed the engine the white ivory door swung open.

Dean's breath caught. Swallowing hard, he hardly realised his siblings conversation come to an abrupt end as he slid out of the car and smoothly slammed the door shut.

For a moment the two stood frozen. Simply staring. Drinking each other in. Then he smiled.

"Hey, sweetheart."

When she started forwards, Dean was ready. He wrapped her supple frame securely in his hold with one strong arm whilst her arms circled his neck. Dean allowed his eyes to drift close, revelling in the peace as his fingers teased a soft path through her blonde hair. She shuddered at the motion and buried her face further into his chest.

" _Finally_ ," Rebekah breathed, her voice quiet but Dean could hear the relief. He allowed his arms to loosen as she gently drew back to peer up at him, full of false indignation. "What the bloody hell took you all so long?"

"Got caught up in some mess with some pissed off sons of bitches five miles back."

"What my brother is so eloquently trying to say is that he _screwed up,_ " Grace added, causing Rebekah to swiftly spin 180 degrees. Dean sent his sister a scathing glare as the blonde Mikaelson's shock rapidly turned to elation.

"You _screwed_ _up?_ " she repeated, an amused glimmer in her forest green eyes.

"With wraiths," Grace added and Sam took an amused stand by her side.

"An entire clan of them."

Dean turned away from the three faces full of mirth and muttered to himself a gruff and weak grumbled retort. "Bitch."

Grace and Sam shot him identical parting grins but they understood the underlying order he was desperately trying to convey. The front door closed a moment later.

Rebekah waited a few seconds longer. She squinted up towards the house, prolonging the time until she was utterly convinced they wouldn't be disturbed by prying eyes or ears.

Then her arms were crossed with her hip cocked to one side. Dean followed the movement with a subtle head tilt.

"Well I hope you have thought of a way to make it up to me." It was a quiet whisper. Edged with a slither of yearning.

He liked what he heard in her tone. The tether to his control was already hanging by a thread. His last hunting trip had been dragged on for far too fucking long. He needed to touch, to caress, to cherish.

He stepped forwards. His head bent down. He was close enough to feel her warm breath on his skin, to feel the quiver of her fingertips as her slender hands rested upon his shoulders. He dragged on the anticipation until their hearts were drumming to an accelerated beat.

His lips brushed over hers. His fingers slid under her thin top to rest gently against her spine. She fell limp in his touch almost immediately, her eyes fluttering closed. Overwhelmed by her desire and demand. Her craving and yearning for this man. The man who was indulging in the taste of her on his lips.

When he pulled back, a smug smirk slowly spread across his face at her quiet whine of reluctance. He could feel the faint dig of nails into his skin in her subtle attempt to pull him back.

"How was that?"

It was a question which let the blonde Mikaelson know he was fully aware of her reaction. Getting a verbal confirmation from her however, was part of a different game entirely.

"Could use a bit more practise," she responded breathlessly. "After all... I did give up my immortality for you."

Dean took one assured step forwards and her heart danced to a hot rapid tango in her chest. He swept her into his arms with one swift movement and a gentle laugh.

He was Dean Winchester after all. What kind of man would he be if he didn't satisfy her request?

* * *

 _"Tardus en Canusis. Extendere la vitalem."_

 _She was quite the sight to behold_ , Kol mused to himself as he watched her enraptured. She was kneeling down inside a candle lit circle, a hollow wooden bowl placed on the ground before her.

A quick scan over the ingredients made his lips tilt up. He could recall every single one perfectly; he had obtained them for her after all. A mixture of ginseng, turmeric, bilberry and gotu kola. The herbs crushed into a fine powder.

Magic thrummed through the room as she extended her arms, her palms facing forwards. Kol absorbed it all with hunger in his eyes. The raw power radiating from the dark haired beauty before him was simply formidable.

The wind blew through her hair, whipping her locks up into a frenzy as she chanted.

 _"Tardus en Canusis. Extendere la vitalem."_

It started off as a whisper, slowly gathering strength until the words began to pour from her mouth as her confidence grew. He watched the candle lights flare up into vertical needles but concern was quickly covering his features. He could see her beginning to wane.

When her hands began to quiver, he stepped forwards. Placing his hand on her shoulder, he sighed as she leaned back against his chest. Her hand shot up to clench his hard. Drawing in strength from his touch.

 _"Tardus en Canusis. Extendere la vitalem. Tardus en Canusis. Extendere la vitalem!"_

A white stream of fire burst from the bowl like a fountain. Blinding jets ricocheted off the walls, engulfing the room in flashes of white light.

Predicting the potential devastation, Kol flashed forwards. His arms were immediately tight around her waist and yanking her swiftly back into his hold. He ignored her faint protests, his only intention in severing the magical connection between the spell and his girl before she hurt herself further.

One more explosion of light erupted from the bowl and suddenly they were both airborne. Thrust back through the air before slamming hard against the concrete back wall. A knife piercing pain shot through his head, the agony disorientating him momentarily until his healing kicked in.

Yet his arms never removed themselves from around her waist as he shielded her from the blasting surge of energy.

Then, faster than a gunshot, all colour disappeared. A black sheet of shadow enveloped them in darkness. No sound could be heard except the ragged inhale and exhale of their breaths. Then, one by one, the candles slowly lit, flickering serenely as the original and the witch fought to control the rapid synchronous beat of their hearts.

Very slowly, she moved away from the security of his arms and gingerly edged forwards. The floorboards creaked under the pressure of every hesitant step.

Kol waited silently. Carefully watching her expression as she inhaled a deep breath and knelt down, shakily peering into the bowl. "What's the verdict, little witch?" he questioned.

She didn't answer at first. And he couldn't divulge her emotions from the blank canvas of her face. The seconds ticked on and Kol stood inhumanely still. Apprehension surrounding the knots in his stomach and tightening them to the extreme.

"We did it..." she finally breathed and Kol froze. Unable to process his steadily rising hope as she whipped around to face him, brown eyes wide. "Oh my God… _Kol_."

Her words faded out as her own shock caught up with her. As they both processed what this meant for them.

She had accomplished such a feat; a rare magic which many witches could only dream to succeed in performing. Even if they lived for over a thousand lifetimes.

As of this moment, Davina Claire was for all intents and purposes, immortal.

She didn't notice as he moved close but when she did, she stood on tiptoe, fingertips brushing his shoulders lightly as she stole a kiss from his lips.

Kol's undead heart pumped hot blood which sizzled his skin as he surrendered to the intensity of his desire. His hand curved around her nape, his fingertips threaded through her silken hair and her whisper on his lips made him shudder.

"I love you, Kol Mikaelson."

"My darling wife," he breathed, before glancing down at the slender hands, which had slid to his chest, with a sense of awe. Focusing in on her index finger, where the diamond metal band wrapped round her skin. "How did I ever find myself so lucky?"

Davina leaned back to peer up at him as she responded innocently, "Well I met this guy…Kaleb." She turned away from him, staring off into the distance as she let out a long and dreamy sigh. "He was charming, assured. Drop dead _gorgeous_."

She was initiating a dangerous game and it was one he was all too willing to play. A smirk teased the edges of his mouth as his hands curved over her waist, palms splayed over her lower back.

"Well at least this roguish face is incomparable to that of my siblings."

He meant it as a teasing jest but when his own words caught up to him, he stilled. She saw through his façade. A hand on his cheek caused him to look up to a raw and emotional gaze.

Her reply was a declaration. Leaving no room for debate. "Your family has _nothing_ on you," she whispered, her thumb stroking a light path down his cheek.

He found himself lost for words. His eyes stung and he swallowed hard. "You Davina Claire are the epitome of my undead existence." _Beautiful. Gorgeous. Absolute_.

He wasn't sure who moved first but her arms were around his neck and his hands were tangled in her hair, angling her head to the side for access. He slanted his lips over hers in a desperate, bruising kiss.

Her arms slid to his shoulders, nails digging into his skin. Pleasure wrought with pain surged through him and as his impatience rose to soaring heights, he moved her around until her back was against his chest. He dipped his head. Pressing fervent kisses along her jaw. Down her neck.

Knees shaking, she sagged and he tightened his hold, a satisfied groan rumbling from his throat.

And then he heard it. It came out of nowhere, getting louder and louder. Rushing through his head.

Screams. Frightful, pleading, terrified _screams_.

His head jerked away from Davina's skin, his passion quickly replaced with horror. He didn't once see his wife's concern as he staggered back, his body jolting with uncontrollable shakes.

"Kol?"

He could barely hear her calling out to him. Could not bring himself to soothe her terror. An itch was ripping the back of his mind into shreds. He didn't want it to break through. Because whatever it was, it was going to hurt.

 _So bloody much._

"Please, Kol, _look at me,_ " Davina begged, her voice breaking in fear as she shakily tried to pry his hands away from his face. When she tipped his head up to meet her gaze it happened again.

Images flashed through his eyes.

Davina. His Davina.

Her blank unseeing eyes staring up at him. Her throat shredded, blood still oozing from the cuts in her flesh.

He tore away from the image tormenting him and flashed to the corner of the room where he crashed to the floor. His chest heaved in and out rapid breaths. His eyes clenched tightly shut.

But he could still see her bloodied body in his mind. It just wouldn't go away.

"Kol! What's happening?"

He froze at her touch on his shoulder, bracing himself for the shattering pain once more. But it never came. She had drowned out that small lapse of insanity but he couldn't fight off the unsettling remnant of dread as he apprehensively opened his eyes.

"Nothing darling," he forced himself to reply. Then reaching out, he carefully gathered her in his arms and placed a light kiss to her forehead.

Chestnut eyes stared blankly off into space as he uttered his last words robotically. "Nothing at all."

* * *

Mornings to evenings, sunrises into sunsets, the days passed by. When the next dawn arose, Rebekah Mikaelson woke up particularly early in quite an uneasy mood. The feeling was out of the ordinary, like the emotion didn't quite fit in with her life.

Sitting up and rubbing her weary eyes in an attempt to erase the unneeded escalation of irrationality within, she swiftly pushed the covers to one side. Taking an irritated note of the empty space beside her, she marched out of the room she shared and headed outside.

It didn't take her long to come across a familiar face. Her lone figure stood unmoving in the back yard. Her ash brown hair was pulled up into a tight ponytail, feet spread parallel apart with her arm bent back to throw.

Reverting from her staring back to her current displeasure, Rebekah strode forwards.

"Where's your brother?" she demanded and Grace pivoted around with the sharpness of a razors edge, her expression blank as she steadily poised the blade of the dagger to Rebekah's throat. It took a moment for recognition to hit before she carefully lowered the weapon a fraction of a millimetre.

"Resting would be my bet," she replied quietly and her lips turned down as she wiped a small droplet of sweat from her forehead. "He was a bit off during the last hunt. Scared the hell outta me." Her eyebrows furrowed as she muttered, "Kept talking some crazy ass stuff in his sleep."

All previous frustration immediately disappeared as Rebekah found herself reflecting Grace's concern. They could read into Dean's strong and silent façade as easily as placing a meagre pen to paper and allowing the ink to spread over the page.

But Rebekah, like Grace and Sam, knew better than to interfere. The last thing the older Winchester needed was someone standing witness to his lapse in composure. Observing that rare moment of weakness.

He would come to her when he needed to talk. Until then she just had to remain patient.

Instinctively, her gaze drifted to fix on the one distraction which would perhaps keep her slightly occupied. Keep her away from her wandering thoughts.

"May I?" she asked and Grace paused, deliberating her request for the span of a second before flipping the weapon around and passing it over, hilt first.

"Have at it."

The handle was smooth against her palm. As she brandished it out, Grace circled her, scrutinising her stance with an emotionless expression which put the blonde on edge. Because that face was one she recognised all too well. On her brothers. On Dean. On herself.

This was the face of a hunter.

"Think of the dagger as a part of you," Grace encouraged as she efficiently readjusted Rebekah's grip. "It's an extension of your arm… don't tense your wrist." She backed away as Rebekah drew back her arm, forest eyes narrowed in concentration. "Relax... and _throw_ …"

She sent the dagger flying. It soared smoothly through the air towards the tree. Tip first. A triumphant grin spread across Rebekah's face for that one small second.

Then the knife bounced off the trunk and clattered to the ground.

"Fucking hell," Rebekah cursed and Grace turned away to hide a smile. Refusing to give up, the former vampire stomped away to retrieve the knife.

"Not bad for a first go," Grace called, the entertained tone clear and Rebekah rolled her eyes.

"It was bloody horrific," she responded before turning her focus back on her actions. The knife clenched hard in her hand. "You would think after a thousand years of life, I would be able to wield a stupid weapon," she snarled, her own frustration getting the better of her. "My family slaughtered beasts daily for sustenance."

"The monsters have gotten a tad trickier since then," Grace assured her with a nod. "That and I'm going easy on you. Dear old dad was a right fucking bastard when it came to anything huntin' related. Sammy once said we were raised like warriors." She rocked back on her heels and muttered darkly, "I don't particularly disagree with him either."

Rebekah's gaze fell as she waited patiently for Grace to continue but all she got was an assured statement.

"You're concerned."

Rebekah was quick to reply. "I feel you want something more than the life you have already led."

"Something normal?" Grace considered her curiously. "Like my brother has with you?"

"If you'd like," Rebekah replied before idly commenting, "Many suitors out there would vie for your attentions, my brother for one seems to fancy you."

Grace paused mid throw, a faint red paint littering its way over her cheeks, knowing all too well which brother she was referring to. "I suppose," she whispered. "Sometimes I wonder what it would feel like. If I'd finally find a sense of balance."

She broke off and pressed her lips tight together.

"Not that it matters," she said, her forlorn gaze drifting to the saturated ground beneath her feet. "This idea of a normal life for Sammy and I... it's just not in the cards. Every time we try to get out, to live a life away from all the hell, it always goes rotten."

Rebekah took a hesitant step forwards but before she could offer words of comfort, Grace continued from where she left off.

"And I think I'm alright with that." She tipped her head up and shrugged at Rebekah's expression of pity. "Seein' my brother happy... I guess it makes all this worth it. He practically raised us. Seein' my brother happy..."

A faint smile tugged at her lips she gently uttered, "It's worth the sacrifice."

 _"They sacrificed their lives so pathetic creatures like you get to live."_

A strange chill streaked down Rebekah's spine. She quickly scanned the area, searching wildly for the source of the disembodied voice. But there was nothing out of the ordinary in sight. Still, she was afraid. Of something she couldn't quite put her finger on.

The words which escaped her mouth next were without conscious thought. "Do you believe in a perfect world?" she enquired softly, passing the dagger back over and the question caused Grace to pause. The female Winchester thoughtfully lowered the weapon as she mulled it over.

"Being perfect means there is nothing left to change," she finally responded. A glimmer of sadness passed over her delicate features as her head dropped to face the ground. Rebekah almost didn't catch the last of Grace's words as the dark haired girl admitted, "And on that day... I think I might just feel completely and utterly _useless_."

A small tense silence befell them as Grace stared unseeingly out into the distance. "But today is not that day," she murmured to herself. With three quick blinks back into focus, she flipped her wrist and sent the dagger flying. Piercing the bullseye with sharp and swift precision.

"And that's how you do it," she proclaimed and Rebekah forced her ajar mouth closed in favour of rolling her eyes.

"Now I understand why your numbers are always up," she crossed her arms with a derisive huff. "You're all bloody show offs."

Grace smirked.

* * *

He didn't know what it was about this night. What made it so different from the rest. But Dean Winchester was in torment. Thrashing this way and that beneath the silk sheets.

A thin sheen of sweat coated his lined forehead as he heard them echo through his mind.

Words. Countless words. Intelligible voices. There was something important about them. Something so very important… so _familiar_.

In the dream he was walking. Travelling at a slow pace as he intently scanned his surroundings, searching for some kind of sign he didn't yet know. He hadn't yet formed a visual picture of what he was looking for. Mist steadily rose up on either side, obscuring his view of the surrounding forest.

As he walked, he felt it. That craving pull, leading him instinctively to where he needed to go.

He saw it then. The dark path winding off into the distance. It seemed so bright against the drab colours. He was pulled towards it like a naïve bug drawn to a vibrant light. He stepped off the ground and onto fine gravel.

 _Follow the path._ A faint voice in his mind urged but Dean needed little persuasion. One foot in front of the other was all it took. His body tensed as it prepared for some surprise attack.

But nothing came.

The whispers steadily grew in volume until they blasted incomprehensibly through his ears. Sentences were forming around him. He couldn't tell who said it or where it came from but he damn well heard them.

And then he heard it. A sound more clear than anything he had known before.

 _"Screw the angels and the demons and their crap Apocalypse."_

Dean jerked his head to the right, towards the source but all that encased him was shadow and silence. He was completely alone. His heart began to pound, his palms began to sweat. He picked up the pace along the path. Closing in the distance between him and his unknown destination.

 _"They want to fight a war, they can find their own planet."_

Dean burst into a sprint. The gravel crunched beneath his feet. A sound more smooth and wet met his ears as his trainers pelted the ground. His nostrils burned at the smell slowly drifting into his senses. A scent so strong it made him wretch.

Dean drew in a slow breath and swallowed hard before glancing down to see his trainers covered in a thick liquid sheen.

 _"We take 'em all on. We kill the Devil. Hell, we even kill Michael if we have to, but we do it our own damn selves."_

He skidded to a halt. Blood splattered the hem of his jeans but he never noticed. The wrought iron gates loomed over him, casting a dark shadow over his face. Heart hammering, he began to approach through a steadily increasing high wind.

The mist swirled around him with each step. As the heel of his trainer touched the ground, tombstones rose up from the dirt. Instinctively, Dean's fingers twitched, reaching for his gun but finding nothing but air.

He slowly knelt down, a strong sense of foreboding battering his chest. His breath hitched. His arm extended, fingertips reaching out into the mist. He needed to catch one glimpse, to feel the script etched into the smooth stone…

" _Dean!_ "

He awoke with a start. Sitting upright, he became aware of Rebekah perched frantically beside him, her hand gently cupping his clammy cheek. Concerned blue eyes scanned him over. He could read the unanswered question in her pale expression.

"It's nothin' sweetheart," he muttered sleepily.

But even in his spiritless attempt to console her with his words, he was seein' it all. Things which weren't adding up. And now he was getting flashes of things which freaked the hell out of him.

Because Rebekah's face had contorted before his very eyes. Her flourished ivory skin was paling to a sickly grey. Protruding veins creeped up her neck, to her chin…to her cheeks. Covering her lightly dusted freckles.

He blinked his bloodshot eyes once. Twice. But the image never faded. He jerked away from her comforting touch, his mouth pressed into a thin line. "Actually no, it's not nothin'."

He got up and briskly left the room, striding down the hall with his mind a blur. Then hearing her gingerly following behind, he suddenly whipped round. She flinched and stumbled back at the dark intensity of his icy gaze.

"You became human. _How_?" he demanded.

Rebekah blinked, taken aback by the question. She opened her mouth to reply but no sound came out. No sane answer came to mind. The colour of her face drained to chalk white.

"Yeah," Dean stated with a slightly darker edge to his tone. "Yeah, that's what I thought."

"Why should that matter?" Rebekah protested frantically as Dean made a move to walk away. "So what if I bloody can't remember? I've had my life stripped away from me because of other people's bad decisions. I never wanted to be a vampire. I wanted a _life_ , a _family_. What I have with you now…" She closed her mouth for a moment before faintly admitting, "It's all I've ever _dreamed_ of."

Dean paused at the doorway, his frame slightly hunched.

"We have everything we've ever wanted," Rebekah whispered, her gaze boring pleadingly into the hunter's back. "Stop looking for something more."

She was right. What they had was so damn amazing. But his head was beginning to pound hard, like a screwdriver was drilling agonising holes into his brain. Jaw clenched, he shut his eyes tight, bracing himself against the pain.

And then they started again. And this time, it was no dream.

 _"I don't know, brother. Some would class it as bravery."_

His hands curled into tight fists, knuckles turning white as he clutched the frame hard. They were getting louder and louder. Harder and harder to control. They were blasting through his head like an explosion of untold memory.

 _"Come back to us Sammy. You are stronger than him, you always have been."_

"I need air," he gasped out and when Rebekah stepped forwards, he coldly shook his head and backed away. "Somethin's not right about all this."

With that he swiftly exited the room and Rebekah Mikaelson was left alone. A sudden waft of cold air enveloped her body. Goose pimples rose on her flesh and her hands automatically rose to rub away the foreboding chill.

"He'll be okay," she whispered, a firm reassurance to herself in the silent room.

"Oh come now, has your love for the hunter truly warped your sense of judgement, sister?"

Rebekah's heart hammered hard in her chest as she spun around to meet dark and narrowed eyes.

"Don't be so naive Rebekah," Kol chastised. He leaned against the door with his arms tightly crossed, his cold and calculated gaze roamed the room. "The hunter's right. Something isn't right about all this… and now he isn't the only one to believe that, is he?"

Rebekah looked away from him, her lips pressed in a tight, quivering line. She didn't need to reply. She had absolutely nothing to say. Because somewhere in her mind, she knew her brother's words rang true.

She blinked. One small tear dripped from her eye and splashed softly onto the floor.

* * *

Dean found himself outside in the black of night, thinking back on the past few weeks as he paced back and forth. The cold bitter air stung his nerves as image after image, voice after voice flashed through his mind.

His surroundings suddenly started to shake. In and out of focus, like a rapid blip on a faulty screen.

Dean shook his head vigorously and when he opened his eyes, everything was still.

And yet with each connection of foot against paved ground, he was becoming more and more restless. The back of his mind had begun to prickle and still nothing could help him scratch that itch.

But maybe there was one thing that could…

"Screw this," he finally muttered. Fisting his hand into his pocket, he pulled out a set of keys. He pressed down on the button and the Impala's headlights flashed.

He had one destination in mind; the only destination which made the tiniest shred of sense. He was getting some damn answers and he was getting them now.

Just as he was about to kick Baby into gear, the door to the passenger side swung open and a figure slid in.

"So where we goin' this time, brother?"

"Get out of the car, Grace," Dean snapped but Grace's smoky blue eyes gleamed.

"You get out of the car."

Dean muttered obscenities to himself as she stubbornly fastened the belt, leaned back against the car seat and crossed one leg over the other. Her confident face looked up at him with a grin, waiting for orders. Waiting to see what he'd do next.

"Look this is my problem. Mine alone," he stated, fixing her with a cold glare but her humoured smile never wavered. "This discussion does not require a second party."

"How about a third then?" Grace offered and the question caught him off guard.

"Third?" he repeated but his confusion was quickly answered at the sound of the Impala's back door swinging open. "Aww, _come on!_ " he groaned.

"We're with you Dean. We're not leaving," Sam asserted from the back seat as he shut the door firmly behind him.

Dean looked from his brother, to Grace and back again. There was no point in arguin'. There was no way they would let him go this alone. And although he wouldn't ever admit it aloud, he needed them.

His lips twitched. "Then let's do this."

The Impala engine roared to life.

* * *

He had no plan when they arrived, no idea of what he had to do when he got there. Or even if there was anything to actually do. But as soon as he killed the engine and stepped out of the car, that craving was back and it was hitting him hard.

He led them up the winding path he had been drawn to so long ago and they walked in silence. Feeling no need to talk as he marched purposely towards some unknown destination.

The trees grew dense around him with each passing step. Behind him, he could hear his siblings ragged breaths in the cold evening air.

"So what's the description of this demon son of a bitch, you were so on about gankin' again?" Grace puffed, eloquently breaking the silence.

"No demon," Dean answered as he picked up the pace and stepped into the mist. "Just mine."

The footsteps behind him came to an abrupt halt and Dean paused. His heart kicked up a beat and his stomach flipped uneasily at their apprehensive pause.

He took a few more steps and the iron gates came into view. The metal shimmered faintly in his obscured vision.

"Look, why… why don't we all just go home and talk about this, yeah?" Sam cautiously offered and Dean rolled his eyes before finally reaching the destination embedded so strongly in his dreams.

"Because I'm havin' a weird sense of deja vous," he uttered. Then he heard it. The faint echo of sound reverberating around him.

 _"I don't know, brother," a calm, amused voice stated. "Some would class it as bravery."_

His eyes drifted over the sign and the barely illegible script ignited a light in his mind.

 _Stull Cemetery._

A hand closed over his wrist as he took a reflexive step forwards.

"Dean, _please_ don't go in there," his sister begged.

"I'm sorry Gracie," Dean uttered. "But I have to."

He moved closer and stopped before the gates. In a moment of hesitance, all he could hear was the deep inhale and exhale of air as his lungs worked to calm his rising fear. He reached out with a faintly trembling hand and pushed.

The metal creaked a shallow sound as the gates swung open and Dean stepped through.

The mist around him faded away as he walked on in a daze, hardly conscious of his siblings behind him or the other familiar faces approaching.

Led by Davina Claire, Rebekah and Kol came to a halt behind the Winchester siblings.

"What are we doing here, darling?" Kol asked his wife but Davina didn't answer. Her hand dropped out of his grasp and she silently backed away, expression blank as she watched Dean Winchester's face start to crumble.

"Is this what you wanted?" Grace breathed from behind him, her words like the sharp tip of a knife ripping his chest to threads.

"You just kept on digging, like you always do," Sam said softly.

Dean sunk to his knees. The feeling of hopelessness was drowning him inside until he could no longer breathe. And yet he could never look away from the scene playing out before him.

 _Grace Winchester's arm was extended, smoky blue eyes narrowed dangerously as she snarled, "No one dicks with my brother but me."_

 _She flicked her wrist and sent Lucifer hurtling across the clearing. Not waiting to see how he landed, she sprinted desperately towards Dean's roughed up body and skidded to her knees beside him._

 _"I can hear you," she murmured softly. "I'm here brother." She placed her hands on Dean's shoulders, gripping them fiercely._

 _And when his dazed, glistening green eyes looked up at her, she promised, "I'll always be here."_

 _"Grace," Dean breathed, his hand clutched hold of his sisters, tight._

"I remember," Dean whispered, swallowing hard as he watched Grace stand tall before his past self, taking Lucifer's hits without so much as a flinch.

He watched as Grace's hand finally shot out, catching Lucifer's wrist in her grasp. He watched as his past self forced himself to his feet and stood side by side with his sister as they fought. Fought for Sammy to return to them.

 _"We're here, Sammy."_

 _"We're not gonna leave you"_

Rebekah and Kol both paled.

"Holy hell." Rebekah swayed. Shock, disbelief and denial crossing her face in bursts as her mind spun into gear. Slowly comprehending the scene. Her voice quavered. "Is that…"

Dean cut her off with a snarl. " _Lucifer_." Then all venom left his body and he held back a sob as the revelation broke through. "This was how they died."

"We were dead and gone in your world. Deep down you knew that! Why, _why_ couldn't you stay here and be _happy?_ " Grace whispered. She hung her head to hide her suddenly tired face. "Why couldn't you have left well enough alone?"

Son of a bitch. He knew exactly what he was dealing with. Every image, every voice in his mind… it was his reality seeping back through.

How he wished it wasn't true but the next words which poured from his lips sent a white hot burn through his chest. "Because you're not real, Grace." Then he turned to Sam. "Neither of you are."

"But we are, Dean," Sam urged. "We're remnants. How we speak, how we act, it's all the same. We were created from your memories… this is what you wanted most in the world… because you are still not over losing us."

Dean closed his stinging eyes.

"What makes this world any less perfect than the one you'll return to?" Grace questioned quietly. "You wanted to leave Hayley and Hope because you couldn't stand to watch them be happy with the family they dreamed of seein' again. You couldn't bear to stay with a family whose sacrifices for each other reminded you so much of the life we shared." She stared over at her mirror self and sighed sadly. "This way, you never have to lose us. Never again."

 _Grace and Sam shared a nod of acceptance. As Sam backed away, Grace placed her palm against Dean's cheek._

" _It's okay brother," she whispered, her voice breaking. "It's all going to be okay."_

"We've lost so much," Sam murmured and Grace came to stand by her younger brother's side. She met Dean's desperate eyes.

"This way we simply just get to live," she whispered.

"But you're not," Dean denied quietly. "You never got to live. You're dead. You died heroes. Savin' people." He shook his head. "Savin' the entire _goddam_ _world_."

He moved his head back to watch as his sister turned to Sam. His throat clogged at her desperately anxious resolve.

 _"Don't let go of me, Sammy," she whispered._

 _Sam squeezed her hand. A silent promise. "Never Gracie."_

"And yet you wished we had all run," Grace uttered as she stepped forwards, looking upon the true version of herself and her younger brother as they fell down into the abyss. To the endless hell which awaited them. "Cowered away. Maybe then we would still be alive."

"You're never gonna move on from this Dean, you know that," Sam murmured.

Dean watched as his past self knelt down and slowly closed his hand over something small, discarded on the grass. A glint of metal caught the light and his chest seared hard.

The Horsemen Rings. Another reminder. The only object which had remained behind after the fall of his siblings.

Which had verified in his mind that it hadn't all been a dream.

When he felt Grace's arms around his waist and Sammy's hand on his shoulder, he swallowed hard. "I know, but you gotta at least let me try." His voice cracked.

And yet his feet remained glued to the floor. He couldn't bring himself to move.

"You can't do it, can you?"

" _Brother_ ," Rebekah gasped and Kol turned, his mouth slightly ajar.

Finn Mikaelson moved a few steps towards them. "When I died I caught a glimpse of your coveted always and forever," he said calmly and Rebekah froze. "The darkness here is suffocating. Sister..." Rebekah swallowed and Finn smiled at her before turning to Kol. "Brother. Stay with me."

Davina quietly approached Kol's side and gently threaded her fingers through his. "This place is created from your combined memories. This is what you desire more than _anything_ in the world," she whispered.

Kol stared despairingly and swallowed hard as he hungrily drunk her in. Every single perfect feature.

"In here we could live a full life together. In here I'll never die." Davina broke their hold and backed away, shaking her head in anguish. "Why do you want to throw it all away?"

"Don't do this to me, Davina," Kol pleaded.

Dean's gaze swept heavily over his siblings who were waiting desperately for his answer. "You told me once that I had the strength to pull myself out," he croaked before he tiredly shook his head. "I don't think I have that anymore."

He wanted to stay. He wanted to stay so bad. He had lost so much, his family had sacrificed so much. People owed their lives to him and they never once gave a crap. After everything his life had cost him, just once he wanted to matter. Just once he deserved to be happy.

He had made his decision.

But what happened in the following moments was too quick and too painful to comprehend.

The surroundings had blipped out of focus for one second and when they came back into clarity, Dean's stomach turned with a sickening jolt.

"S-sister," Finn stuttered. His eyes were wide with shock, all emotion falling from his face. Veins creeped slowly up his cheeks as his skin greyed. His body arched back and Rebekah was instantly at his side.

To Rebekah's left, Davina's body dropped. Dean was completely unaware to Kol's frantic shouts of terror.

The older Winchester was hurtling towards his little brother who was swaying dangerously.

" _Dean_ ," he gasped before sinking to the floor.

Dean skidded down to his knees beside him. One arm curved under his neck, supporting his head before it smacked against the floor. "I've got you man, I've got you," he assured him, trying to keep his voice strong and Sam managed one last hoarse laugh before it slowly died from his face.

A choked sob escaped Dean's tight throat. He clutched his brother's lifeless body, green eyes clenched firmly shut to stop the tears from falling.

"Kol don't l-leave me," Davina gasped the words out. Her chest was heaving, struggling with each breath as she desperately fought to talk. "I don't want to be a-alone. T-the a-ancestors…"

She whimpered hard and Kol's eyes burned. Gently, he trailed his fingers down the length of her cheek, over and over. Letting her know he was still with her as the light in her warm irises slowly faded.

When her eyelids fluttered closed and her last breath left her lips, he held back a sob. His arms pulled her limp body to his chest and held her close. "Give them hell Davina Claire," he whispered, wet tears streaming down his cheeks.

To his left, a faint laugh resounded through and through his anguish, Kol forced himself to follow the sound... to brokenly watch Dean scramble across the room to silently cradle the limp body of Grace Winchester, her head supported in the crook of his arm.

But Grace didn't look to her big brother. Her attention was tiredly focused on Rebekah as she croaked with a faint smile, "G-guess our n-numbers always were up, huh?"

Rebekah's throat felt tight as she watched on hopelessly. From Davina Claire's lifeless body held tight in her brother's arms, to Sam Winchester's unseeing smoky eyes… to Finn's charred and blackened corpse.

Her lower lip wobbled as she mustered all the remaining strength she had left in her heart and took a step forwards. She knelt by Dean Winchester's side, her hand curved gently over his arm.

He wasn't one to relish in support but nothing could have prepared them for something as twisted and as painful as this.

Grace's head lolled back, her mouth parted as she drew in ragged breaths. With one last adoring look up at her big brother, the light in her eyes began to dim.

Dean rocked his sister's limp body, his face buried in her hair as his arms around her shook. "You can't do this to me, not again," he begged as her eyelids fluttered closed. "I'm supposed to look after you, That's my job. To watch over you and Sammy."

His head then shot up to fix his attention upon his fallen brother, praying desperately to God, to Cas, hell to anybody who would give a damn.

"Sam? _Sammy_!" But no one answered his hopeless pleas. Sam didn't respond. Didn't even move. Tears burned hot in his eyes as he turned to his sister. "Grace?" he croaked, rocking her body. "Gracie, open your eyes."

But she didn't… one last breath of life escaped her lips. And then she was still.

Everything around them began to disintegrate into wisps of smoke. Rebekah and Kol shakily got to their feet as their surroundings blurred. Yet Dean held on until the last shred of his sister's body crumbled to dust beneath his fingertips.

Until he was yanked from this hell and thrust back into the other.

* * *

It was like waking from a dream. Except he remembered it. Every gut-punching detail. He remembered it all.

Dean blinked heavily as he struggled back into the realm of consciousness.

He became aware of his position first. His arms ached, his shoulders hung. His head had lolled forwards, chin against sternum. Spots danced before his eyes as he dazedly attempted to raise his head.

He cast a fleeting glance towards the body on the wooden floor. The head of the djinn lay less than a metre away… a silver knife coated in lamb blood was embedded deep into its lifeless, inked skull.

"Twice in five years." A voice drifted through his ears. Calm yet slightly amused. And _all so familiar._ "You've probably broken a record or something."

Dean's muscles froze. His body was paralysed in place as his mind began to spin fast, until he could no longer breathe from the disjointed thoughts and emotions which were rushing through his brain.

Shock. Disbelief. Denial. Rage.

It settled on one final one.

 _Hope_.

His head shot up. An instant stabbing sliced through his skull and he emitted a low groan of pain. He sluggishly blinked, watching as his vision slowly started to clear.

"Careful, that's some powerful stuff," the voice cautioned a dazed Rebekah and Kol. "We're dealin' with an Alpha here."

"Sam?" he croaked and that was when the figure finally looked up. Rebekah and Kol watched on with anxious and weary astonishment. When no response met his ears except deafening silence, Dean hoarsely tried again. _"Sammy?"_

The figure stepped forwards. A slither of light cast an eerie glow upon his face. Dean's heart began to beat faster. His throat dried. He found himself lost for words.

All he could do was stare.

Sam Winchester's calm gaze swept over the pale face of his big brother. He smiled a half-hearted smile.

"Hey Dean."

* * *

 _ **Sam Winchester is back in the fray! Took him long enough :D**_

 _ **I literally loved writing this so let me know what you thought!**_

 _ **Reviews**  
Dark-Supernatural-Angel:_ _Haha, those Djinns are tricky things! It definitely put Dean, Rebekah and Kol through hell. The aftermath of that will be explored next chapter. Klaus shared that photo with Hayley but Hayley still believes it's a trick to torment Dean :(. But at least she put Klaus in his place where Dean is concerned and calmed his fears that Hope sees Dean as her father! Hayley is aware that Hope was killed in that alternative future but Hope isn't and Klaus won't be just yet ;) Hope you liked the chapter and Sammy's return :D  
_ _xenocanaan:_ _I miss her too! I'm glad you liked Klaus' reaction! Hope you liked the chapter and the ending :D  
_ _AugustRush:_ _Thank you so much! Hope this chapter met your expectations.  
_ _jynxieminxie_ _: Klaus let it slip that he saw Grace but Hayley refuses to believe that it's her :( Not that I can blame her with shapeshifters and demons which want revenge on Dean :(. The djinns were always heart wrenching but now Kol and Rebekah understand a more of what Dean has to face every day being a hunter. You'll see a bit of their aftermath next chapter. Hope you liked what I did with it and the ending :D  
_ _happinessinthedarktimes:_ _I'm so glad you liked it! Not Grace this time but at least one Winchester sibling has returned :D  
_ _Pluv143000_ _: Oh my god really? I'm so glad you like it! Hope you liked all the insights too this chapter! Haha Kol and Klaus were always my soft spots :D I love writing Hope and Dean's scenes too! Hope you enjoyed this chapter, till next time :D  
_ _scythe195:_ _Thank you! Hope you liked the update!  
_ _WanderlustReader:_ _Thank you so much! That may or may not happen with at least one Mikaelson in the future ;) But Kol and Rebekah definitely got a glimpse this chapter!  
_ _chibichibi98:_ _Aww, thank you! Sammy's back, hope you liked the update!  
_ _Krislyngera:_ _Thank you, it means so much to me! Something is definitely going on and Sammy's finally made his entrance! Zadkiel is mentioned in an outline for a future chapter, I think you'll like it :D  
_ _angelmarie1995_ _: You'll see ;) Hope you liked the update!  
_ _alicia7788:_ _It's finally here!_

 _ **Next chapter: Hayley's safe house gets pretty crowded with reunions all round. A mysterious affliction affects Hope. Until next time :D**_


	14. Familiar Faces

She never stopped pacing, her body never stopped trembling. Never once did she feel the attempt of the comforting hand of her lover on her shoulder. Never did she remember jerkily brushing it off.

In her right hand, the phone lay clutched tight within her white-knuckled grasp. She didn't know what to think, what to feel. Fear and rage were battling for top place as her mind mulled rapidly over the past few hours.

Dean had left her in the typical fashion, no explanations, no goodbyes… and yet with one single message, the pompous Winchester hunter had her teetering on a cliff's edge.

 _Call Bobby. Now._

"Hayley," Elijah cautioned but before he could reach out to offer some form of comfort, she hastily shoved away from him once more.

Unable to control her rising anger, her golden eyes darkened as she let out an inhuman snarl. "I'm gonna _kick_ his _ass_."

Forcing her stiff fingers to unclench, her thumbs swept over the buttons before hastily pressing the device to her ear. The rings echoed through the room while she agitatedly paced, waiting impatiently to hear the familiar gruff baritone.

When the voicemail finally sounded, her jaw clenched tight. "Bobby, answer your damn phone or I _swear to God_ I will track you down and jam the thing _so far_ into your ear before you can say the word idj-" The answer tone cut off and with a frustrated snarl, she slammed the phone down onto the table beside her. "Son of a _bloody bitch."_

She didn't even know which one of the two hunters she was cursing and didn't care. As far as she was concerned, until she got some answers, the both of them could go to hell.

With another irritated growl, she flung herself back against the nearest sofa and ran one exhausted hand down her face. "Dean's bloody lucky he keeps comin' back to life cause I'm gonna kill him – please _not now_ Elijah."

She shook his attempt at comfort off for a third time at which point the older original released a low sigh. "Niklaus." He calmly captured the attention of the hybrid and at the single raised brow he received, he silently gestured towards the agitated woman standing before him. "Would you _please?_ "

"I fail to see why _I_ would be of any help, if the good brother cannot even calm the mother of my child," Klaus responded and leaned back, watching the whole scene before him in silent amusement. "No no, by _all means_ brother, let her vent. I for one find her current antagonism towards the hunter quite refreshing…" he deliberately paused and his lips curved into a knowing smirk despite his innocent enough question. "Don't you agree?"

Elijah pressed his lips together and turned away from his brother's expectant, glittering gaze.

When the doors to her safe house burst open with a loud bang, the dark haired hybrid was immediately on her feet. Klaus and Elijah immediately whipped around but she had already caught the heartbeat. The human hunter scent. In a blur of air she was suddenly in front of him.

Dean Winchester observed her silently whilst a despondent Kol and Rebekah flanked his either side.

"What the _hell_ were you thinkin?" she demanded, jabbing her finger into the centre of his chest. Dean almost instantly stepped back, his features hardening to an emotionless mask.

To his left, Rebekah Mikaelson's lips managed to twitch into a faint smile. But the more Hayley concentrated, the more she realised there was something off with her stance. It seemed tense. Protective. Poised for attack.

Shaking those brief concerns away, her head snapped back to Dean, feeling the familiar growing rage of betrayal. "What did you expect me to do huh?" she spat. "How the hell did you think I would react? You told me that family isn't down to bloodlines. That it's the people who earn that right, who have got your back even when life gets tough. That's what made me your family. You don't get to fucking _run_ just because you're scared I'd choose them-"

"Save the lecture, Hayls," Dean retorted sharply, his emotionless tone cutting across what he assumed was about to turn into some fuzzy heart-warming speech. "We have bigger problems."

"And what could possibly be more problematic than your current introvert complex?" Hayley snapped, no longer able to mask her outrage as her arms folded into a tight bow against her chest. Her dark eyes glittered with gold sparks but Dean still said nothing.

To his either side, the hunter could feel the cautious eyes of Rebekah and Kol boring into him, could see Klaus and Elijah stepping forwards, their interest steadily rising. From the subtle tilt of Klaus' head, Dean could already tell that the hybrid had sensed it. Not that he was surprised.

Over the years the green eyed Winchester had come to know a thing or two about torture and five years of it would be more than enough to course adrenaline through Klaus' system. The unending paranoia, the constant fear of attack would put the mind on edge… always awaiting a potential threat.

"I do not recall turning my daughter's home into a hunter's soirée," Klaus finally spoke and Hayley, picking up on the extra heartbeat, froze. "Come out mate."

Dean grudgingly moved to one side and a tall figure stepped into view. Hayley craned her head and with a single look, her blood ran cold. Her jaw hung low and unable to catch her breath, spots danced before her eyes.

Dizziness. Confusion. _Terror_.

The emotions rattled a path through her body in an unending circle. She couldn't bring herself to believe, not even for a _single_ moment.

"Hey Hayley," Sam Winchester greeted with a small grin. He closed the front door softly behind him. "Long time. How are you?"

She couldn't think. She couldn't _breathe_. He had _died_. Dean saw him fall. She spent countless, sleepless nights tossing beneath the covers; suffering with the knowledge that for the two people she had considered family, their sacrifice had brought them no peace. Just endless, dark torment.

And yet, the younger Winchester stood directly before her, looking as immaculate as the day she had last seen him alive.

"What. The _hell?_ " she managed a horrified stutter, an unexpected pain bursting in her wide eyes. "Shifter?" she quietly aimed the question at Dean and the taut reply which followed was equally as broken as it was cold.

"Workin' on it."

She nodded and instinctively stepped to the left, allowing him to barge further into the house, his mouth set in a firm line.

"Bobby… did you call him?" he called over to her as he tossed his duffel bag to one side and Hayley swallowed before licking her dry lips.

Her focus never drifted from Sam as she unsteadily responded, "He won't pick up."

"Well that's just freakin' great." Dean immediately whipped out his phone, pressing it hard to his ear. "Bobby you better damn well answer," he growled. Out of the corner of his eye, he detected movement and rapidly jerked back around.

" _You_ , stay there!" he commanded, causing the younger Winchester to come to an instant halt and raise his hands in innocent surrender. "You don't get to move one step, _you hear me?"_ Dean looked away and shook his head. "I'm still not convinced any of this crap is real."

"You can bloody well say that again," Rebekah whispered back. She slowly edged back to Dean's side as the hunter closed his phone with a sharp snap.

Confusion wafted over Hayley once more. The more she watched, the more she began to pick up on the tiny details. How a dazed Rebekah refused to move no further than thirty centimetres from Dean's tense side. How Kol's dark and bloodshot gaze remained fixed straight ahead, focused almost unseeingly on the furthest wall.

When Klaus stepped forward, his younger drained siblings instantly started as if only just acknowledging his appearance. "It seems as though your midnight escapade to turn tail from your family didn't quite go as planned," he proclaimed.

A muscle in Kol's jaw twitched.

"Not now, Nik," Rebekah whispered and Klaus paused, the hint of confusion drifting over his irritable features as she softly implored, "Please, for now, I _beg_ of you, just let it go."

Klaus steadily studied her failing composure for the fraction of a second before reluctantly nodding. He turned his back on them, refusing to wait for another fabrication of some petty excuse.

"Well I don't know about you sister but after our recent trauma, I'd say a family drink seems long overdue," Kol announced into the suddenly tense air. He disappeared from the room in a flash before reappearing mere seconds later, a bottle of bourbon in hand. "And after losing the love of my life for the second time round well," he popped off the cap. "I'd say this calls for something stronger."

Dean scanned the contents once with the slither of approval before striding back towards his duffel bag, deftly unzipping it before removing a small silver flask. When Kol zeroed in on it with instant interest, Dean's mouth curved. "Not bad but here." He tossed over the bottle which Kol caught with one hand. "Takes the edge off."

"Well Nik did keep me daggered for over a century so I'm a tad behind the times when it comes to the joys of a good drink," Kol announced as he took an experimental sip. "Although right now I would prefer mine a tad more bloody." Sly and darkening eyes met the cold forest green of the hunter's before he airily persuaded, "Care to tap a vein, mate?"

"I ain't your damn happy meal," Dean retorted with a sharp snap before his mouth twitched. Kol returned the smirk, his chestnut irises now glittering with amusement as he lifted the flask back to his lips, taking one large swig. The alcohol burned his blood. His cheeks flushed with heat in the dim light.

The two seemed completely unaware of their silent audience and with her mouth agape, a wary Hayley found herself utterly lost for words. What the hell had happened between Dean, Kol and Rebekah within their two hour departure for the three of them to suddenly gravitate around each other like three peas in a fucking pod?

She squashed down a sudden surge of jealousy as her brain spun faster inside her skull. What kind of Lohan, Freaky Friday crap universe had she suddenly stepped into? The musings passed through her head until she instinctively turned to the left and peered up.

One glance towards Sam snapped her back into focus and she swallowed hard, blinking back tears. _How was he back? Was he even real_ or w _as this whole thing just some demon's trick?_ They needed to sort this. Her and Dean together. To discover whatever truth lay behind the youngest Winchester's sudden resurrection. But first...

It took tumultuous effort to place one foot in front of the other until she came to stand by Elijah's side. She could feel the relaxation of his frame at her close presence and despite her mounting dread, she managed a small reassuring smile.

"Keep Hope away," she whispered, curving her palm gently over his upper arm, a silent apology for her actions before.

Elijah turned to her, his oak eyes boring softly into hers before he nodded once, not questioning. He cupped the back of her neck and her eyes fluttered closed. His lips brushed lightly over her forehead. In a whoosh of air, he was gone.

"Sweetheart, _go_."

Hayley turned to watch Dean quietly reassuring a conflicted Rebekah. The blonde original had her slender hand clasped around his wrist but like the rest of the room, her focus was now on a relaxed Sam whose calm gaze was flickering over each one of them in turn.

With one more desperate glance to Dean, Rebekah followed the demand behind his jerky nod and slowly released her hold. She exited the room in a blur with her remaining brothers in tow. Klaus cast back one last mixed look of bemusement and anger before reluctantly disappearing after her.

Dean and Hayley now stood alone to face the ghost of a man they had once thought deceased and for a while, the room was silent.

Sam patiently waited, his body unnaturally relaxed as he fell privy to their scrutiny. As she examined him close, Hayley couldn't stop her hands from shaking while Dean drew her focus.

Because he never once moved, his frame stood unnaturally still... frozen in place like Medusa herself had cast her eyes upon him and remoulded him into a tense doppelganger of stone. Yet behind those steady green eyes, Hayley could see that whatever truce the two brothers had temporarily formed during the journey back to the house, was now rapidly breaking into a million pieces.

Maybe Dean couldn't trust Sam and he was in his right not to… but she couldn't just _stand there_ and wait to see how it all played out. Because if it was him, _really_ _him_ , then she needed to do this.

Her undead heart pounded to a nervous drum inside her chest as she gingerly moved forward, steadily closing the distance between them. All the while Sam calmly watched her approach, allowing her to do this on her own terms. To take control of this messed up situation.

Once she was close enough to feel the heat radiating from his flesh, she stood on tiptoe and wrapped her arms softly around his neck. She buried her head into his chest, hearing the even thrum of a living heartbeat. When she felt the gentle warm pressure around her waist, a small laugh broke past her parted lips before she quickly pushed it back. Elation was replaced once again by confusion... resting finally on anger. She acted on that impulse.

Her hand shot up.

The sharp smack cracked through her ears, yet she couldn't bring herself fee remotely guilty. When Sam's arms loosened she stepped back, tears now dripping down her face, her palm falling away from his face.

Sam placed his hand to his cheek, rubbing the reddening flesh with faint surprise. "Well, I was not expecting that," he uttered and Hayley looked away.

The old scar of _grief_ was opening back up in her chest as she whispered, "Don't you dare die on us again." She shook her head and softly begged, "Not again."

Sam caught her internal desperate plea. His hand dropped back to his side. "Yeah," he replied quietly. "I promise, Hayls."

She chewed on her lip, fighting a soft smile. "Welcome home, Sam," she whispered before gingerly making her way to a conflicted Dean. "I'll be outside okay?" she quietly reassured him, her hand clutching his for a momentary second before letting go. She turned away.

Sam watched her exit with a calm surprise which almost failed to meet his clouded blue eyes. "You two seem to have gotten close," he commented when the door finally closed. Leaving the two of them alone. "Who would have thought that would happen?" He studied his brother vaguely. " _Dean_." He sharply pressed for him to respond but Dean couldn't bring himself to move.

Feet glued to the floor, his body remained immobile. Disorientated in his shock. He could feel his eyes burning as his mouth fell slightly agape. It was like his mind was still stuck in a purgatory, struggling to grasp the difference between dream and reality and the lines were blurring so fast in front of his eyes that he could no longer tell which was which.

Watching him carefully, Sam exhaled a low sigh. "I was expecting uh," he broke off before lifting his shoulders up in a nonchalant shrug. "I don't know, a _hug_? Some holy water in the face? _Something_. But for the past half hour back you've said nothin' - hell you haven't even _looked at me_ since I got you all out."

Dean opened his mouth, tryin' to speak. No sound came out but his movements were swift, automatic as he seized the object concealed within his waistband. His fingers closed tight over the grip before his hand flew up, poising the gun steady and Sam eyed the barrel aimed directly at the patch of flesh between his eyebrows.

"Well I guess that's a start," he appraised and Dean shook his head, the confusion and astonishment turnin' his body numb.

"How do I know that this ain't still part of the Djinn's messed up crap to screw with us?" he managed to utter through a quavering voice.

"You think I'm not real?" Sam voiced his disbelief before his face flashed with amusement. "Here…" he offered, rolling up his shirt sleeve before swiftly withdrawing a small switchblade, placing it to his skin. "Let me save you the trouble."

His fingers tightened over the handle for a brief moment before pausing, the grip going lax as he glanced around towards the closed door.

"Can they control their thirst?" he mused but it wasn't really a question as he dragged the tip of the blade down his arm, slicing the flesh with one thin, horizontal cut.

Dean just stared, never blinking, his mouth parting in shock and Sam raised his eyebrows, sending him a knowing glance before making his way towards the duffel bag. Pulling out a water bottle, he unscrewed the cap, poured in a salt sachet and swirled the contents until the grains dissolved. Then he raised the bottle to his lips, took one long swig and swallowed.

"All me," he declared, his face screwing up in disgust before he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. "That's nasty."

Dean slowly lowered his arm, the gun now hanging loose in his grasp. He set it to one side. Unable to think. To feel. "Sammy?" he questioned shakily and Sam nodded.

"Yeah." He lifted his arms up briefly before setting them back down. "It's me."

And then it hit him like somethin' so unbelievably hard and he took a measured step forwards. Then another. Both brothers paused, carefully taking each other in and in his mind, Dean assured himself that this was no pretence. Sam was _here_ , he was standing before him… he was _real_.

He moved swiftly, unable to hold back any longer. He wrapped his brother in a one armed hug, his left hand clenched into a tight fist around Sammy's neck and holding him hard, afraid that if he let go, for even one single moment, his baby brother would be gone. Returned to the darkness and agony of the pit… the pit… _trapped_ …

Dean exhaled a sharp breath and his arm immediately loosened. He rapidly backed away, his thoughts and words a jumbled mess in his stunned confusion. "Wait a minute, wait a minute, you you you were _gone_ man, I mean that, that _that was it_ , how the _hell are you_ -"

"I don't know," Sam responded and Dean gaped at him.

"What do you mean _you don't know?_ "

"I mean _no idea_ ," Sam shrugged it off before clearing his throat and awkwardly adding, "I... I'm just…" he cleared his throat. " _Back_."

"Well was it God or -," His heart was now hammering at a pace so fast that his vision spun, his mind struggling to find any kind of explanation. "Or _Cas_? Does _Cas_ know anything about it?"

"You tell me, I've been callin', Cas hasn't answered my prayers," Sam answered. "I don't even know where he is." Faint frown lines etched into his forehead as he recalled, "I mean I was _… down there_ and next minute I- it's raining and I'm lying in that field. Alone."

He hunched his shoulders despondently, fiddling idly with the bottle still within his grasp before setting it slowly back down, returning it to the bag before them.

"It's kinda hard to go lookin' for whatever saved you when you got _no leads…_ but I looked, I mean _believe me_ I looked." He shoved his hands in his pockets and turned away. "For weeks."

Dean blinked once, staring unseeingly at his brother's back. "Wait _weeks_?" he repeated tonelessly and the door to the living room burst open.

The two brothers whipped around at the interruption and Hayley barged into the room, her dark eyes glinting dangerously, her face one of absolute fury. "You have _got_ to be _kidding_ ," she snarled.

"Couldn't stay away?" Sam asked her bemused but Hayley waved his words away, refusing to falter in her rising ire.

" _How long_ have you been back?" she hissed. Dean shot his head around glaring at his brother who suddenly refused to look in their direction.

"How long have you been back, Sam?" he demanded, his breath constricted and tight with the unbearable truth which was staring at him and stinging his insides like a smack to the face.

"About a year," Sam admitted reluctantly and Dean's eyebrows rose up in disbelief.

"About a _year?_ "

"Dean." He sighed.

"You've been back practically this _whole time_? Wait… _hang on_." He fought through his thoughts, over everything he had just learnt and his mind jumped to the recent Mikaelson massacre… and the dagger he had unearthed in the mass of charred bodies... a dagger which could only belong to one person.

His pulse hammered hard as he faced his brother head on, his voice unsteady as he asked, "Were you the only one that got out?"

Hayley froze. The atmosphere seemed to drop in temperature until it was silent enough to hear a pin fall. The hybrid and the hunter stared hard at Sam who turned his despondent gaze to the floor.

Just outside the room, Rebekah shut her eyes and Klaus tilted his head towards the closed door, a mix of ocean and gold eyes sharpening with sudden interest as he began to listen in hard.

"Dammit, Sammy," Dean snarled, feeling a white hot anger flare through his veins. "So where the hell is she?!"

"Hunting somewhere probably," Sam replied, unconcerned.

"Probably?!" Dean retorted. He let out a cold laugh of disbelief.

"Quit it with the vagueness, Sam," Hayley snapped and the younger Winchester raised his hands in innocent surrender.

"Look I dunno, last time I spoke to her was sometime last year. She's always around though," he rapidly added at their icy glares. "Usually not that far away from me, not her style."

Dean shot him a furious glare. "You let her hunt _alone?!_ " he shouted and Sam shook his head, sending him a patronising glance.

"You know as well as I do Dean that when Gracie wants to do something there ain't any way of talkin' her out of it."

"What then, did you both lose the ability to send a freakin' text message?" he demanded but Sam just smiled complacently.

"You finally had what you wanted, Dean."

"I wanted my _brother_ ," Dean exploded. "My _sister_. _Alive!"_ The anger was hot and strong inside him and his voice grew with it. A soft, warm hand was suddenly resting on his upper arm and Hayley moved close to his side. Providing him with silent support.

"How the hell could you do that to him?" she uttered, trying against all the odds to hide her blatant disbelief. "To me?" she whispered. "To _Hope?_ "

Sam ignored her, never looking away from his brother's betrayed stance. "You wanted a _family_ , you have for a long time, maybe the _whole time,_ I know you," he told him sedately, as if it was all there was to understand. "You only gave it up because of… the way we _live_."

Only then did he move his gaze away to survey Hayley's stunned face. "Our lives and the damn apocalypse prevented _you_ from stepping up and finding a cure," he continued and Hayley opened her mouth to retort but Sam had already dismissed her, moving back to his brother with an unrelenting stare.

"And maybe living with the vampires now is a bit dysfunctional but in that year, you, Hayley and Hope had something, you were _building something_ ," he implored. "Had we just shown up Dean, you would have just run off on another hunt, another threat would rise and with your focus divided, Hope and Hayley may have never gotten their family back."

Dean turned from him, his eyes damp and his face pale as he covered his mouth to hide his trembling lips.

"Look, I'm sorry," Sam apologised, causing Dean to release a disheartened snort. "But it felt like after everything, you deserved some sort of stable life."

His shoulders rose and fell as Dean slowly breathed in, then out. It was a weak attempt at composure but he managed it. Only then did he turn back around. "You left us alone and you were both flying _solo?"_ he questioned incredulously.

"Seemed like the right thing to do," Sam justified. He began to pace back and forth in front of them. "After the pit, with Grace and I …" he paused, trying to form the words. "I don't know, it's kinda hard to be around each other right now."

He shrugged to himself before turning his unfaltering gaze back upon them, his lips twitching up into a smile. "Now do any of you have a beer?" he queried. "I'm parched."

Hayley just silently raised her hand and gestured towards the door. "Second left you'll find it," she mumbled and Sam nodded his thanks before stepping out the room.

When the small click of the door closing sounded once more, Dean sank into the couch, his body sagging. Hayley waited for him to make the first move. Not daring to speak until he had come to terms with it all. With her trembling hands, she doubted she could even form the words.

The sound of her phone vibrating rapidly caught her focus and she pulled it out, dark eyes scanning rapidly over the message.

"You believe any of that crap?" Dean finally questioned his voice hard and she looked up at him, not answering. Instead, she took a seat by his side, letting her body fall back as a slow tiredness settled over her.

"Bobby's on his way," she whispered, recalling the older hunter's brief reply. "Won't take him long though, yesterday he was supposed to be hunting a Crocotta in town about a twenty minute journey from here."

"You kept in contact with him?" Dean questioned incredulously before clenching his teeth hard. "Well the surprises just keep on comin'," he muttered to himself and Hayley was about to respond when her ears pricked up at the hum of hushed whispers from behind the door.

She rapidly tuned in to the conversation to hear Rebekah's firm attempt at aversion. "You're better off not knowing, Elijah."

"Oh come on Bekah, we should heed his dear request," Kol lightly retorted, causing his sister to release a low groan. "The Crocotta is a crafty beast, brother. From what we learned in our hallucination, the little bugger mimics the voice of your current infatuation to lure you in and devour your soul."

"How _delightful_ ," Elijah replied and Hayley's lips twitched before she tuned back in to her own conversation.

"Well unlike you I wasn't going to shut him out after everything he has done for my daughter," she retorted and Dean stared straight towards the door, refusing to speak. His body remained unnaturally still. And then she realised the truth. Her expression softened. "Don't be angry with him Dean," she said gently.

"I'm not angry at him, I'm freakin' _pissed_."

"Look he may have been a lying son of a bitch but he's alive." She took his hand and squeezed once. "They _both_ are," she breathed.

Dean let out a slow breath and his fingers briefly tightened over hers before rapidly loosening. He gently pulled his hand away before leaning forwards, the faint hint of anxiety and uncertainty passing over his green eyes.

"How alive can someone be when his roommate was freaking _Lucifer?_ " he uttered and his body shook as the thoughts spun through his mind. Time moved faster in hell… but in the cage, who the hell knew how long had passed.

There _had_ to have been some sort of _consequence_.

But Hayley just leaned into his side and whispered, "This is a _win_ , Dean," and he closed his eyes, hoping against hope that it was just his paranoia actin' up, that she was right. That Sammy and Gracie were really both okay. They had been through so much crap for them not to be.

The two of them sat there in silence for a long time and from the top of the stairs, unbeknownst to the others in the wake of Sam's return, Hope Mikaelson stood leaning over the banister.

Her tiny fingers curled around the handrail, her tiny knuckles chalk white as she watched it all transpire from above. Taking it in all down to the last detail.

Wide ocean eyes filled with tears and overflowed, streaming silently down her face. She couldn't look away from him as he strode past her line of vision like a ghost.

A part of her wanted to run into Sam's arms once more... because this was all she had ever wanted… for him and Grace to be here with her, for Dean to finally be happy… her family would be together at last. But another part, a saner part of her mind held back.

It was screaming at her to run. Run _fast_ run _hard_. Because it didn't feel right. None of it did. _Why couldn't any of them see it?_

Without conscious thought, she unclasped her bracelet and let her magic burst free. It floated around her Uncle Sam and Hope closed her eyes… waiting for the warmth, the protectiveness which used to surround him in her presence.

But she couldn't feel anything. He was just… _cold_.

Her small heart hammered. Hope stumbled away and ran back to her room, shutting the door behind her with a snap. She hid beneath the covers; her entire body trembling as she rapidly clasped the bracelet back around her wrist. Then squeezing her eyes shut, she prayed, like she did every night, for Cas to send her good dreams.

As she drifted off into sleep, she dreamt of children her own age… and a man… a very bad man.

Her body never stopped shaking.

* * *

In the room directly across from Hope's, Keelin Moses agitatedly paced around the room as she had done so for over the past hour. Watching, listening, _waiting_. Her nerves wound themselves up in shambles as she quietly listened.

The stories were true, she realised. Always were, always had been. Any niggling doubt had been erased faster than the snap of a finger. She was right to have been afraid, to have listened to the rumours. Now her life had gotten a whole lot more dangerous because Sam and Grace Winchester had defied the laws of death once again.

And when the current duo downstairs became a trio once more, Keelin found herself dreading the outcome. For _everybody_.

"You're still here," a rasping voice sounded to her right and in her current terror she released a quaking sigh.

"I'm a doctor," she answered, ensuring that her voice remained cold. Factual. "Despite everything, it's my job." She turned in the direction of the other voice, and with one glimpse, her emotionless facade crumbled.

Heartless had never really been her thing. Despite everything she just _couldn't_ run away. That's why she still remained, why she had called Hayley for help.

Instinctively, the female wolf began to approach the bed, concern drifting over her as she gently queried, "How are you feeling?"

"Well not great considering I was ambushed and wounded by someone who I have no doubt is yet another one of my family's extensive enemies," Freya replied. She pushed herself up into a sitting position on the bed as she continued, "But thanks to Hayley's blood, in a few more hours my magic will be fully refreshed and you and I can get back to business."

Keelin blanched beneath the pointed glare sent in her direction and a cold sheen of sweat coated her brow. Her stomach twisted into knots and her heart began to pound. "What are you talking about?" she spluttered and Freya's mouth curved.

"You want to be free, right?" she stated, phrasing it like a question even though both women knew the answer. "Perhaps you can help me. With Marcel still alive, my family needs a cure now more than ever, unless... we destroy the disease."

Keelin sent her a blank look but never once looked away, finding herself drawn in and hiding back a reserved smile of her own at the increasing animation in Freya's tone.

"You said so yourself, a monster is just a biological organism," Freya explained avidly. "If you found a way to weaken yourself, maybe you can help me to weaken someone else. My magic." She gestured towards her. "Your medicine."

Keelin's mouth dropped open. Faint amusement flashed over Freya's face and Keelin flushed a pink tinge as she forced her lips together in a feeble attempt to grasp the sudden turn in their relationship. "You offering me a deal?" she said stunned and Freya nodded once.

"You can have your life back," she agreed. "But first, you and I are gonna find a way to kill Marcel Gerard."

A doorbell sounded downstairs, aptly putting an end to their conversation.

"What's going on down there?" Freya questioned and Keelin hesitated, her face paling as the fear returned full force. " _Keelin_ ," Freya demanded once more, watching the wolf with strange anxiety and swallowing hard, Keelin finally managed to put the impossible into words.

"Sam and Grace Winchester are alive."

Freya sprung to her feet and swayed dangerously. Keelin didn't even think. She was immediately at her side, supporting her weight and looking towards the landing, listening carefully to the sound of Elijah Mikaelson's footsteps as he steadily approached the door.

As soon as he swung it back, a gruff and irritated tone sounded loud around the house.

"So what has you idjits all runnin' round like a bunch of crazy schoolkids at recess and exploding my phone with half a dozen missed calls?"

"Bobby," Hayley breathed to herself with a smile and Dean's expression softened as the two exchanged a knowing glance.

"By all means, you're explicitly welcome," Elijah uttered, raising his eyebrow in distaste as the inadequately dressed man barged past him without so much as an invitation.

Bobby came to an abrupt halt in front of Dean and Hayley and was currently surveying their expressions with a critical glare. "Dammit," he swore as he took in the green eyed Winchester's tight frame, the confliction and anger swirling around him like a dark shadow and Dean just tiredly replied, "It's good to see you too Bobby it's been a while."

"I would expect this from Hayley but if you're contacting me, somethin's wrong," Bobby uttered and Dean said nothing. He spun around on his heel to where the Mikaelson siblings stood waiting.

All emotion in Bobby's face instantly faded. He coldly examined each one of them in turn. Not a single immortal missed the way his fingers twitched towards his gun.

Dean carefully cleared his throat to bring back the older hunter's focus. Making sure to emphasise Hope's name, knowin' how Bobby would always have a sore spot for the kid, he introduced, "Bobby, this is _Hope's_ family." He gestured to each original in turn. "Rebekah, Kol, Elijah and Klaus."

Rebekah was the only one to offer an unguarded smile and Dean solemnly watched her blatant recognition towards a man who, in their true reality, had no fuckin' clue who she was.

"Yeah I know," Bobby responded tightly, causing Rebekah to look away, unable to meet the cold glare. "Though, I ain't so sure whether it's nice to finally meet you just yet."

"Well, the feeling's mutual, mate," Klaus airily responded but his blue eyes sharpened, the silent threat all too clear. Hayley shot him a glare as Bobby's jaw clenched, the vein in his temple throbbing. Dean repressed a quiet groan.

"Thought Grace went over this with you all that time ago," he muttered to Bobby who let out an unconcerned shrug.

"Yeah well, your sister liked to look for the good in people." The hunter's attention never strayed from the Klaus' calculating face and his body tensed at the rare flare of emotion which passed over the hybrid's face at the mention of the female Winchester's name. His reply was clear, ensuring that all vamps could detect his final words. "And I told her I'd reserve judgement."

"Actually, I disagree."

The group whipped around to face him. Through his narrowed chestnut gaze Kol examined Bobby critically from head to toe. "How do we know that this is not just another sodding wanker sent to screw us all up?"

"You'd better watch your tongue, boy," Bobby retorted in warning. "If I was a hell's bitch you'd be six feet under."

Kol instantly backed up, ignoring the smug faces aimed in his direction before flashing away in the blink of an eye.

"Well there's something you don't see every day," Klaus mused with an amused quirk to his lips, causing Rebekah and Dean to smirk.

"He's real alright," Hayley stated with a small grin, stepping to one side as Bobby strode past her before bringing up the rear. They followed Dean back into the living room and the door swung shut behind them with a faint bang, providing them with some tiny semblance of privacy.

"So..." Dean uttered. He leaned back against the wall, hands in his pockets and watchin' as Bobby stepped forwards, the hunter's gaze zeroing in on the final occupant in the room.

Sam rose slowly from his seat. "Hey Bobby," he acknowledged and Bobby dipped his head in a slow nod.

"Sam."

* * *

 **I finally updated! :O Hope you liked it!**

 **This ended up being like 14,000 words altogether - I hated doing it but I had to split the chapter :( ... but part two will be out in the next few days. Maybe even tomorrow if I'm happy with it :D  
**

 **After that Originals finale, it took me a while to figure out where I wanted this story to end up hence the wait! I now have a few ideas drafted out but it's so difficult to figure out which one feels the most right!**

 **Thank you so much for your continued support! Like always, please Review :D**

 **Reviews:  
** _xenocanaan:_ Grace will be back _very_ soon! Hope you liked the update!  
 _Guest 1:_ Thank you so much! I'm so glad you like it! It took a while but I hope the two-parter will make up for it! :D  
 _AugustRrush:_ Thank you! Sam's back, Bobby's back, just Grace and Cas left to go! Next chapter is up this week so you won't be waiting as long! I seem to like my double updates :D  
 _happinessinthedarktimes:_ Sammy's back and now Bobby's back too! Poor Dean, he's going through emotional hell and it ain't stopping! Hope you liked it!  
 _Dark-Supernatural-Angel:_ So very true! The dreamscape was so heart-breaking and they all remember it :( Hope you liked the aftermath – you'll see more of it next chapter, especially with Rebekah and Dean... but Bobby's now back and it's not gonna be long until Grace is on the scene. Klaus will warm up to Dean, don't worry!  
 _tysedon:_ It was about time to bring back Sammy! Grace and Cas are on their way!  
 _Guest 2:_ There's a time jump between season 4 and 5 of the Originals – Hope and Jack are definitely a possibility…  
 _jynxieminxie:_ Sammy's finally here and he and Bobby are breaking Dean's heart, especially next chapter :( Only Grace left and it won't be too long now until all the Winchesters to come face to face...  
 _castielris:_ Thank you so much and I'm so glad you like Grace! All three Winchesters will find themselves face to face _very_ soon! Xxx  
 _Regin:_ Thank you so much! I'm so glad you're enjoying it! Hope you liked the longer update!  
 _Dalar Rose:_ Yay! Thank you so much, it means everything! :D  
 _sidtrix:_ Família é definitivamente tudo! Estou tão feliz que você gostou! Espero que tenham gostado do novo capítulo :)  
 _Fanny3332:_ It means so much to me, thank you! Don't worry I am still continuing this, it just takes me such a long time! Hope the two-part update will made up for it!  
 _The Jabberwocky High Priestess:_ It's here! Hope you enjoyed it! Next part out this week!

 **Sneek Previews for this weeks chapter:  
** Dean and Hayley face Bobby and Sam, Rebekah faces Klaus, Hope has a bad dream and Vincent gets a familiar visitor... Until then :D


	15. A Bad Man

All the colour in Dean's face was washed away like one, icy bucket of revelation had been dumped over his head, clearing his mind until it became one fat, stinking heap of betrayal. To his left, Hayley released a low growl… because that single interaction between the two hunters was too familiar and without a single _hint_ of surprise.

Dean looked at his brother who calmly returned his gaze, before he shot a second demanding glance in Bobby's direction. The older hunter shiftily readjusted his cap, for once in his life havin' the decency to look abashed.

"You _knew_ ," Dean whispered hoarsely, not even the hint of a question in his tone. "You _knew_ Sam was alive."

There was a brief silence.

"Yeah," Bobby admitted. He took a seat beside Sam. Dean took one measured step towards them.

"How long?" he spoke flatly but Bobby said nothing.

The older hunter's chest rose and fell with one deep heaved sigh of breath. He sagged back against the couch, folding his arms loosely against his chest. "Dean," he cautioned.

"Answer his _fucking_ _question_ ," Hayley snarled and Bobby looked to her briefly before turning back to Dean, taking in his enraged stance with the smallest hint of guilt.

It took another small moment of hesitation before he lowered his head and quietly confessed, "All year."

Dean's gaze flickered back and forth between the two, his pallor draining rapidly of colour. "And _Grace_?" He could hear his voice beginning to crack, the realisation slamming into him hard. "You knew about her too?"

Sam and Bobby flashed each other another brief glance and Dean jerked away, exhaling hard. It wasn't a laugh which fell past his lips; the tone was void of humour. Full of bitterness towards the absurdity of what he was hearin'. "You have got to be kidding me," he fumed, turning his back on them.

"And I'd do it again."

Dean stilled. Red hot rage began to bubble his blood. He spun back around, throwing his hands in the air and glared down at Bobby's resolute scowl. " _Why_ ," he barked.

"Cause you _got out,_ Dean," Bobby finally snapped and Dean stopped short beside a silently seething Hayley. "You walked away from the life." Dean opened his mouth to retort but Bobby cut over him. "And yeah, maybe there were the few odd hunts here and there but you gave your life _purpose_. You cared _more_ about _livin'_ for fear of what you dyin' would do to those two girls." He extended an arm out in Hayley's direction before he sharply finished, "And I was _so damn grateful,_ you got no idea."

Dean stared at him for a moment in disbelief. His hands curled into fists as he strode forwards, cornering the older hunter in. Lowering his head, he met the defiant gaze glowering back up at him. His rage still lingered. "Do you have _any clue_ what walkin' away meant for me?" he snapped.

"Yeah," Bobby retaliated. "A woman who looks to you like a brother. A kid who sees you as her uncle. And maybe your life ain't perfect but it's as perfect as the life of a hunter can get." He shook his head and muttered darkly, "Like not gettin' your guts ripped out before age thirty that's what it meant! Least with the company you keep, I am less worried about that now!"

Dean forced his mouth into a firm line, his fists clenching tight until he felt his rapid pulse throb. Movement started at his side and he snapped his head to the left. Hayley walked forwards, a bewildered and angry flush to her cheeks. Her expression was blank but her eyes glittered gold.

"We moved on because you asked us to," she said, her tone deadly quiet and Bobby surveyed her.

He nodded once at whatever he saw. _"Good."_

Good for _who_?" Dean fumed. "I showed up on her doorstep half out of my _head_ with _grief_." Sam looked away but Dean still didn't stop. The past year of tormented memories came spilling out through the cracks in his mind and he saw it flash by his eyes in vivid definition. "I had nightmares, Hayley was a mess and Hope… that poor kid couldn't sleep for weeks because she loved you both _so_ _damn_ _much_." His chest rose and fell fast before his lips fell into a grimace. "Still saw Grace every time she closed her eyes."

"Do you have any idea what that did to her?" Hayley managed to utter, her voice almost croaking and for the first time, a flicker of shame bypassed the angered expression on Bobby's face. "She lost _two families_ in _two years_ and when Cas left, when you _refused_ to come and see her, she couldn't understand what it was she did wrong."

She scoffed at his telling silence before her chest rumbled with a heavy snarl.

"Screw the _life_ ," she hissed. "We're Mikaelsons…I knew the _damn risks."_

Towards the end of the sentence, she found her focus turn towards Dean who simply clenched his teeth and refused to meet her defiant gaze. She didn't see fit to start that up again but now she had said her piece and Dean had heard it loud and clear.

If he wanted to up and leave again, then he could do so as he pleased but his excuse of leaving, just because he felt like he wasn't a part of her family, was now nothing more than the lies he would tell himself. Lies he would invent so he never had to get attached.

"Hayley and I, we tracked down those packs to save her family, we looked _everywhere_ to save mine," Dean spoke, his gruff tone had gentled but there was still an ireful edge as he addressed his brother once more. "We collected _hundreds_ of books trying to find _anything_ to bust you and Grace out."

"You promised you'd leave it alone," Sam quietly objected. "That's what Grace and I wanted."

"Of course I didn't leave it alone," Dean exploded. _"Sue me."_ He began to pace five long strides in each direction, trying to get a hold of his anger which was on the rise once more. "Grace is a fuckin' _martyr_ on the best of days and _you?"_ He whirled back to face his brother. "If it was _me_ in that pit instead of you? Would you have left well enough alone?"

Sam appraised him silently. "Yes," he responded. Dean swallowed hard.

It was like a punch to the chest. Like some big ass hand had thrust itself inside his cavity, breaking each and every rib in turn, before turnin' and twistin' at his heart until there was nothin' there left to hurt. Yet he would never let that dark pain show. He never did.

"Well that's where we differ," he finally spoke, pressing his lips together in a hard line.

But his eyes gave him away. Green orbs burned hot with unshed tears. Dean knew that Sam could see and he wanted his younger brother to feel all the hurt and helplessness which he had suffered through without him.

"Cause I couldn't _stand it_ Sammy," he croaked, unable to hide that hollow echo as he turned away from the face of pity he would rather not see. "What you were going through and not being able to do a single damn thing about it."

"Look, I'm sorry Dean," Sam stressed. "But what we did… it was the right thing to do." Smoky resolute eyes locked with the tormented green. He got to his feet steadily affirmed, "I don't regret it."

The door closed with a soft click behind him, signifying his exit and Dean watched the rigid slab of wood for a few seconds longer before slowly turning back around. Back to face the adamant older hunter who sat, back straight, before him.

The betrayal and anger and sadness returned, festering and aching like an old wound.

"A damn _year?"_ he rasped, ignoring the small break of his tone. "You couldn't put me out of my _misery?_ "

" _Look_ ," Bobby exasperated. "I _get_ it wasn't easy. But _that's life_. And it's close to happiness as I've ever seen a hunter get."

Dean clenched his teeth before looking over to him and for the first time since Bobby had stepped into the house, he recognised the true guilt and regret for the lies the hunter had hid from him this past year, begin to spread over his wearied face.

"It ain't like I wanted to lie to you, son," Bobby uttered but Dean didn't respond. He turned his gaze upon a tearful Hayley. "Either of you," he whispered.

Hayley sucked in a long breath before turning away. She couldn't look at him. She refused.

"I can't deal with this now," Dean uttered. Then with one swift and agitated hand running through his hair, he turned on his heel. With more force than necessary, the door swung back on his hinges and he stormed through, stopping short at the two figures before him.

Klaus and Rebekah Mikaelson stepped back and Dean felt his muscles tauten. The hybrid didn't even have the fucking decency to look abashed.

His anger flared. "Oh great, that's _just_ what I need," he spat, refusing to acknowledge Rebekah's flinch. "A friggin _peanut gallery_." He barged forwards and the original siblings smoothly parted to let him pass.

Rebekah Mikaelson pressed her back against the wooden frame before letting her body sag. She watched him go, all the while vaguely listening in to Hayley's following words and ignoring the way her undead heart thumped unsteadily through her chest.

"Real classic, Bobby… I don't want to hear it. You can be the one to explain all this to my daughter when she asks why you abandoned us."

Rebekah tilted her head towards the far window and slowly opened her eyes. She watched the silhouette of the green eyed hunter stride down the pathway and into the night whilst her memories from their alternate reality tumbled through her head.

And while he never once turned back to catch one more glimpse of her… the agony she felt in that one action had her completely and utterly blindsided.

Uncertainty, she realised, was a strange and yet terrifying emotion to bear.

Klaus surveyed her actions with a low smirk. "Ahhh, my dear sister," he mused. "Ever the hopeless romantic." But Rebekah refused to rise to his jibe and despondently shook her head.

"You just don't get it, brother," she mumbled. She wondered if he would ever begin to comprehend the events she had endured tonight. How she had lived an entire lifetime of happiness in a joint hallucinated reality forged by Kol's, Dean's and her very own selfish desires. "It's _so much more_ than that."

So much more than any one of her past infatuations. In that concocted realm, she _knew_ him. She knew the man behind the hunter, the obedient son to a father who expected one to much of him, the older brother who would defy impossibility to protect his younger siblings.

She knew what he was going through because that hallucination wasn't just a shared present, it was a shared past. He had shared it with her. All of it.

When she looked to her brother, to try to find the words to explain to make him understand, she stopped short. His head was bowed, blue eyes hard with the remains of a tight lipped sneer on his face. But when he turned his focus back on her, she saw the truth behind his derisive actions following her return.

She saw the anger… she saw the hurt… and she recognised it… because she was feeling that exact same kind of pain… the pain of losing something worth caring about.

"You're angry that I left you again," she quietly deduced and Klaus remained silent apart from the subtle twitch of muscle in his jaw. "But can't you begin to understand why I was afraid, Nik? Every time we part, the terms have been less than amicable to say the least."

She chewed the inside of her cheek hard, her hands finding each other and twisting nervously as she quietly admitted, "But what I did tonight to you brother, I dare say was my biggest shame."

Out of the corner of her eye, she caught a glimpse of his body twisting subtly in her direction. He was giving her the opportunity to acquit herself and she took it.

"What I endured tonight made me realise how much I regretted not saying goodbye to you." She furrowed her eyebrows together as a small surge of realisation flickered through her mind. She whispered to herself, "Maybe on some level I was afraid to say goodbye once more."

Her chest rose with a steady breath and she dared to take a step forwards. And he let her, his ocean eyes brimming behind his emotionless stare.

"You saved our family Nik and that should have told me all I needed to know about the man you've become." She smiled softly to herself. "One I'm _proud_ to call my brother."

Klaus inhaled a sharp breath and she reached out, taking his hands in hers and squeezing gently.

"But that man doesn't need me anymore," she whispered. "I know that I'm your favourite sibling, and _of course,_ I _adore_ you. But there's space in my heart for something more." She peered out the window into the darkness outside and continued, "I want _love_. I want a family of my own."

Their gazes met and she never once looked away, her blue eyes stinging as she softly questioned, "And wouldn't it be nice if we could part on happy terms for once? No daggers, no exile. Just so long for now." A single serene tear trickled down her cheek. "I'll see you again soon."

She stood on tiptoe. With a hand on his arm, she swallowed back the hurt and placed a chaste kiss to his cheek. "Goodbye Nik," she whispered. Her hand fell limply to her side and she stepped away.

Heart heavy, she turned from him and made a move to leave…

"Always and Forever, sister."

She stilled. Her lips parted to exhale a shaky breath as she slowly turned back around.

With a low sigh, Klaus made his way towards her and she watched his approach, unable to form the words. "You were the only one who never treated me like a misfit," he uttered and her mouth parted, lower lip gently trembling. "For centuries, my only place was by your side." Klaus broke off as his gaze drifted towards the stairs. Up to the bedroom where his little wolf lay. "And now I belong beside my daughter."

He stepped forward and pulled her gently into his arms. "You deserve to find your place in the world, Rebekah," he murmured.

 _Wherever that maybe._

The words were left unsaid but it could be seen in their warm smiles… a feeling of absolute peace. And a promise that one day she would return.

* * *

When Rebekah finally found herself out in the crisp night air mere moments later she didn't hesitate. With her form standing still, she began to listen. The heartbeat sounded to her left, fast with adrenaline and anger. She felt no fear as she made her way towards him, didn't even flinch at the sound of shattering glass.

When the faint scent of blood wafted through the air, she switched to vampire speed, appearing at his side within seconds.

"I don't think baby would be too happy about that," she mused, but her amusement was tinged with concern as Dean retracted his bloodied fist, shaking it slightly as he stepped back from the Impala's cracked windshield.

"I'll find a way to fix it," he muttered, the words almost a mantra to himself. He flexed his hand; the pain was nothing more than an irritating ache.

Rebekah chewed on her lip, debating. With her worried eyes still fixed on his wound, she lifted her wrist to her lips and bit down softly into the flesh. Blood trickled down her skin, dripping on the ground as she extended her arm towards him.

When Dean backed off, never looking directly at her face, her chest stung with rejection. She waited in silence for her skin to knit itself back together before rounding on him. "Is that how it's going to be now?" she demanded and Dean ran a hand down his face.

Those Djinns," he muttered darkly. "They mess with your freakin' head man." He braced his palms flat on the Impala hood, tryin' to get a grasp of actuality. "It ain't usually this bad. Distinguishing which reality is real." He finally looked to her and she couldn't stand the torment which was so easily reflected her own anguished gaze. "Suppose that's what we get when we're dealing with a goddam alpha."

Rebekah's ire dissipated. She gingerly made her way to stand beside him. Only then could she breathe steady in the knowledge that having somebody to relate to was better than her struggling through this alone. She _needed this_.

"I remember _every bloody thing_ ," she said, her voice low and quiet. "I have this whole other life running through my head, where my family had not been damaged and torn apart by heinous betrayals and loss." When he looked at her, she inwardly begged him to understand. "We built something. I was human..." She broke off. Her eyes softened in contentment and she whispered, "I was _free_."

"It wasn't real, Beks," he replied with a tired shake of his head. "None of it."

"I know," she agreed. Then pressing her back against the Impala hood, she let out a soft sigh and craned her head up to the star littered sky above. "But it was _perfect_." Her eyes closed. "I wanted to stay," she admitted.

"So did I…" Dean quietly confessed after a few seconds and she smiled. "But truth is… the world ain't perfect Bekah."

 _"Do you believe in a perfect world?"_

 _"Being perfect means there is nothing left to change."_

Grace Winchester's response rung loud in her head and she let her eyes open. Dean was right and she loathed that he was. There was no use spending the rest of her life pining away for a world that never existed. Her eyes slowly opened, blinking away the memories of a dream.

"Well then…" she began and when he looked to her, she hesitated, feeling her heart clench tight with foreboding as she whispered, "What happens now?"

A small silence settled between them.

"I don't know," Dean uttered. He hadn't the faintest clue.

They had met only yesterday but after tonight, it felt like years. She had managed to get close to him, had chipped down all those barriers he had put up in his mind to protect himself from the pain. So the inevitable ending would hurt less.

And yeah, maybe she was a damn vamp but he knew all too well that life was never infinite. He couldn't let her in like he had done with the all the others in his life... because if he did, he would begin to care and that was his fatal flaw.

The outcome was always the same. His mom, John, Ellen, Jo… his siblings every other year… he didn't know if he could bear the pain of another loss.

And yet that didn't stop him from saying his next words. The revelation he had refused to think back on for the past two years.

"You know I erm," he carefully began. "I never used to be so cool with this." He leaned back against the Impala beside her. "When Hayley told me you were the original vamps, I wanted you dead. To hell what my sister thought."

He lifted his head and looked straight into the distance, refusing to meet those curious eyes fixed so firmly upon him.

"Then one day," he uttered. "I grabbed the Colt and went to that tow truck discarded in Bobby's backyard… that's when I saw you." Rebekah's breath caught as his forest eyes locked on to hers and this time when she looked, they were far from cold. "Even in death you looked gorgeous and… I just… couldn't do it. I thought of what it would do to that kid… I'm glad I didn't."

He could see the hope flicker across her face and he swallowed hard, forcing himself to continue.

"But this life I lead, it's hell but nobody else will ever have the guts to step up and do what I do. And some days I think I can't do it alone." He turned his gaze away and stated coldly. "But I _have_ to."

"No," she whispered. "You don't, Dean."

Frowning, he glanced back towards her. She pushed herself off the Impala and stepped forwards. One warm hand slipped into his and he didn't move away, letting his eyes close as her lips brushed a feather-light kiss over his cheek.

"I'm going to Saint-Tropez with Kol and you're going to stay here," she breathed and his chest tightened. "For your brother. And when you finally find her, for Grace too."

She steadily backed away and he watched her, his gaze never once wavering. Ingraining her into his mind… until the next time they met.

"Come find me Dean Winchester, when you realise what you lost." A faint smile graced her face and her parting whisper echoed through the night air. "When you're ready to take a chance."

The air swirled around him and she vanished from his sight and for a long while, Dean stood just there, completely lost in his thoughts. Completely unaware of the smoky blue eyes watching him steadily from the front door.

* * *

Sam Winchester tilted his head to the side, critically taking in and dissecting his brother's every action. He was unable to put any viable explanation as to why Dean had formed this strange attachment with the female Mikaelson. _Why had his brother allowed himself to have this weakness towards the things that dad had taught them to hate?_

When a faint buzz sounded inside his jean pocket, Sam's focus finally broke away from his brother and without sparing a glance to caller ID, he answered with a simple press. Very slowly, he put the phone to his ear.

"I knew you were still in the area," he uttered but any fondness was absent. His tone simply voiced the cold, clear fact of truth. "Thought you said New Orleans wasn't your _jam_."

He stepped, a safe distance away from the house so as not to be overheard.

"Well someone has to look out for you and who better to do it than your dearly doting big sister? And speakin' of happy families, I honestly don't know how you find the effort. I admire your restraint." She drew in an exaggerated breath and Sam clenched his teeth. "Makes me _proud_."

"Cut the crap, Grace. What do you want?" he snapped and the mocking tone on the other line vanished as quick as the piercing crack of a gun.

"To warn you," she responded quietly. "Or did you _forget_ you're now livin' with immortals with enhanced senses?" Sam shifted from one foot to another, his muscles taut as she hissed, "They'll catch you out on your lies sooner or later and when they do, I will be getting as far away from this monster infestation as fast as I possibly can."

There was a small pause. Sam breathed in deep, holding the phone tight and anticipating her following words.

"You're walkin' on thin ice, Sammy," she cautioned. " _Don't_ _slip_. For both our sakes."

Sam glanced back to the house, the small hairs on the back of his neck beginning to rise. "Are you at least going to tell me where you are, out of curiosity?" he inquired and his question was followed with a sharp laugh.

"Praying for my sins… bye bye, little brother."

The dial tone sounded and Sam let his hand drop limply to his side, lost inside his own thoughts.

If he felt any trace of fear he would have turned around. He would have known that he was being watched.

* * *

Klaus Mikaelson's mouth curved into a smirk as his gleaming ocean eyes narrowed in on the device hanging in the Winchester boy's grasp. He retreated back into the house, scotch in hand, Hope's sketchbook in the other.

He had overheard her parting words, recognised that familiar tone. It seemed as though Dean's newly resurrected brother was not telling the full truth when it came to their absent sister… and his curiosity was piquing.

Anticipation flooded his veins; those hallucinations may have not been some mere hoax of his mind after all. Grace Winchester would return to her brothers soon enough and when she did, he would finally indulge in her, in the answers which only she could provide.

Sinking down into the nearest arm chair, he placed the scotch on the side table and flipped open his daughter's sketchbook, flipping absentmindedly through the pages.

His lips parted at the illustration before him and his fingertips lightly traced the features of his current object of affection before forcing himself to turn the page. A drawing of Hayley and Dean standing side by side in a remote junkyard met his inquisitive gaze. He turned again and image after image ingrained itself into his mind as he absorbed the last five years of his daughter's life.

A black Impala, rows and rows of bookshelves lining the walls of a dingy home… a man in a long trench coat… a perfect imitation of the picture taken of himself and his family at the Mystic Falls ball in celebration of their untimely reunion. With his mouth curving up into a soft smile, he flipped the page once again and paused.

His eyebrows furrowed at the sketch etched into the paper before him… an encircled serpent covered the page, eating its own tail.

A strong sense of foreboding surged through the hybrid's veins as he carefully turned the page. The same drawing lay in multiple colours before him. He flipped again, and again. Page after page, the same symbol drawn over and over in excruciating, rushed detail.

"Dad?" a hesitant voice whispered and Klaus jerked his head up.

Hope's haunted blue eyes stared unseeingly back at him. The sketchbook closed with a sharp snap, immediately forgotten. He leapt to his feet.

He was in front of his daughter in seconds.

"I think something's wrong," she whispered and Klaus knelt down in front of her, his hands curving gently over her upper arms.

"I had a dream… about a bad man," Hope said quietly and Klaus tilted his head, his sharp gaze never leaving her face, his eyebrows lowering with apprehension. "He was hurting these kids and… I think he hurt me, too." Her body began to tremble. "I feel dizzy." Her voice began to quaver. Her face scrunched up in pain. "And my head hurts."

Blood trickled from her nose and Klaus' eyes flashed with fear.

" _Hayley!_ " he bellowed.

She was immediately in the room and crossing over to them in seconds. Klaus backed away as she took his place in front of their daughter. His hands dropped helplessly to his sides feeling reluctant to release her from his hold.

"Mom, I'm s-so c-cold," Hope stuttered and Hayley froze. Her chest rose and fell fast with ragged breaths. Within seconds she had her daughter in her arms, dark eyes wide and clutching her icy form tight.

"What's goin' on?" a voice demanded and the female hybrid jerked around.

Dean stood by the door with Sam close behind; the younger Winchester's tall frame leaning against the wall with his arms crossed. Hope shakily raised her head at their entrance. Her frightened gaze drifted over Sam and fixed on Dean's paling face.

"Dean," she stammered. "I'm… so _scared_." Dean's breath caught. He crossed the room in four long strides to stand before her.

"We're here, Hope." He sunk to his knees and held out his hands. She shakily took them and clutched them tight. "We're right here, alright?"

Hope swayed unsteadily and Dean's hold on her tightened. He unwillingly locked eyes with Klaus, seein' the same fear reflected in his own.

Elijah stepped away from the doorway and took his place behind Hayley, his mouth set in a tight frown as he tensely watched on.

"It's happened before…" Hope muttered. Her skin whitened to the colour of winter snow and her small fingers dug into Dean's skin hard. A glimmer of innocence faded from her wide and unseeing ocean eyes as she whispered, "And now it's happening _again_."

Dean and Hayley exchanged a worried glance and Klaus never took his eyes off his daughter, unable to even breathe, to move as her eyes rolled into the back of her head… her body began to fall.

Dean was ready. He scooped her limp form up into his arms and immediately passed her over to Hayley.

She cradled her little girl tight to her chest as she carefully moved over to the couch and sat down. In her shock, it felt as though her whole body was on autopilot as she ran her fingers through Hope's damp auburn hair over and over.

Her lips were moving, whispering silently in Hope's ear but Dean couldn't catch the words formed.

In a whoosh of air, Klaus abruptly disappeared from the room before returning with a disgruntled Freya who took in the scene before her before swiftly crossing the room. She reached out, placing her hands, palms facing down over, Hope's chest. Her eyes closed and she silently chanted.

As they tensely waited, Dean turned to see Sam still standing by the door, watching on with an unreadable look on his face.

"She's never been sick, _ever_ ," Hayley murmured quietly to the silent room. Hope shifted before her eyes slowly fluttered back open. She gazed up at her mom and shivered once causing Hayley to hold her closer, pressing a gentle kiss to the back of her head.

"Well, what's the verdict?" Dean questioned impatiently causing Freya to sigh.

"This is a magical affliction," she cautiously diagnosed, feeling the unfamiliar power drifting in the air around them. "It feels…" she shook her head, trying to fight through her confusion in her attempt to put it into words. "I don't know it's hard to explain. Almost _cold_."

Hayley gently removed herself from underneath her daughter and made her way over to Dean, pulling him slightly to one side. "Cas," she stated and Dean whipped around to face her fully. "I've tried calling to him, Dean. He just… he _won't_ _come_."

It all came together then, the quiet whispers Hayley muttered in Hope's ear, they weren't to soothe her daughter… it was a prayer for the angel to return.

Dean swore lowly, his eyes rising to the ceiling as he muttered, "Dammit Cas, where the hell are you?"

"Bobby?" Hope suddenly rasped quietly, looking towards the doorway. Her gaze rapidly rested upon the older hunter, who now lingered just outside and Bobby weaved past the others to kneel down by her side.

"Hey kid," he responded, his voice as gentle as any of the Mikaelsons had ever heard him speak. No one noticed the vague recognition in his eyes as he examined her shivering frame. "It's been a while."

Hope weakly smiled, her gaze finally drifting over to Sam. A subtle slither of fear sparked in her weary eyes before her lids slowly began to droop. "Are you back for good?" they all heard her faint mumble before her breathing gradually began to even out.

As soon as her small and exhausted body succumbed itself to sleep, a sudden surge of concentrated power burst through the air.

Freya shot to her feet, following the magical trace to Hayley and Dean looked down as the fearful mother gingerly slipped her hand into her pocket and pulled out a crumpled piece of paper. She swiftly unfolded it, her breathing unsteady.

"It's from Vincent Griffith," she quietly announced to the expectant room as her dark eyes rapidly scanned the contents from left to right. Dean peered over her shoulder, green eyes narrowing into hard resolve. "He knows what's wrong with Hope, he can cure her." Klaus folded his arms, dreading Hayley's final words, already knowing what they were. "But we have to go back to New Orleans.

The hybrid bowed his head, letting out a long sigh… then he bobbed his head once. A reluctant nod of acceptance.

"Well then…" Dean stated. "Let's get this show on the road."

The hunters left the room and Klaus watched them go. A familiar figure moved to his side and never removing his mistrustful gaze from the retreating form of Sam Winchester, he muttered, "You don't need to come."

He rapidly attempted to bypass his brother but a firm hand on his shoulder forced him back around.

"You spent half a decade as Marcel's prisoner, now let me take Hope," Elijah implored.

"Hayley is distraught, stay and comfort her," Klaus argued back. "We'll be out of the city by nightfall."

"You're taking the _hunters_ with you?" Elijah questioned in surprise and Klaus didn't respond.

Though part of him remained cautious considering their vicious reputations on par with his own, he could not simply ignore every conversation which had occurred tonight, could not disregard his younger siblings' unexpected resilient trust in Dean Winchester upon their recent return.

But he had seen it tonight, what Hayley had been telling him from the beginning, they may be the worst threat which the supernatural world would ever have to face… and yet somehow, they cared for his daughter.

"It is of no matter," Elijah muttered, waving his concerns to one side. "Marcel is more _dangerous_ than _anything_ we have encountered and they are only mortal." He stepped forward. "If this is _indeed_ a trap, if Marcel is intent on killing us, your daughter needs a father."

"Alright if I wanted a soap opera I'd have paid my own damn TV license," a sardonic tone sounded from behind them and the two brothers whirled around.

Hayley rolled her eyes in Bobby's direction before she stepped forwards. Dean lingered by the door, rucksack over one shoulder and keys clenched tight in one hand as he irritably waited.

"We're all going," Hayley said without hesitation, not leaving any room to disagree. "She needs me, I need both of you." Then craning her head over her shoulder, she met Sam and Bobby's eyes in turn before settling on Dean.

"We're _family_ ," she stated and Dean's lips twitched once. She turned back to Klaus and Elijah and said firmly, "We stick together."

Sam stood tensely by his brother's side, lips pressed tight together and eyes staring blankly ahead, not saying a single word as Klaus met Dean's hardened gaze, focusing on the firm resolve. "Very well," he agreed.

Dean nodded once before springing into action. He whirled around on his heel, shoved past Bobby and his brother on his way towards the front door but a hand on his arm caused him to still.

"Dean," Bobby began "I-"

"Does it look like we're out to you?" Dean hissed. He didn't wait for a reply. He shook himself free from Bobby's grasp and stepped outside the safe house, making a beeline to the left. His strides were confident, knowing that Sam was once again by his side. His right arm rose. His fingers clenched tight over the set of keys as he pressed down.

A flash of headlights blinded his vision.

He slid into the driver's side, Sam already settled in the passenger seat to his right. Then without so much as a prompt, the brothers extended out one arm, grasped the inner handle and simultaneously pulled the car doors shut with a sharp slam. Dean shoved the key into the ignition and turned.

The Impala engine roared to life.

* * *

Vincent Griffith paused in his steps, lost in hopeless thought. The cold wind blew against his face but it wasn't the icy gust which chilled his body to the bone. He stared tiredly up at the St Anne's church as he recalled the recent events he had endured.

His past was back, the past which, for over eight years, he had tried to keep buried. Because all those years ago, he had performed sacrificial magic to a dark entity in order to gain the power needed to suppress Marcel Gerard.

It had been during a time when his current friend had once ruled the city with an iron clad fist, had suppressed and slaughtered the witches to stop them from using magic.

Back then, Vincent had been _desperate_ , had done it all to protect his unborn child so that it would never have had to grow up afraid in a world of repression. He never could have dreamed of the consequences his actions might have caused.

The witch who had kidnapped the kids… that wild unhinged look on his dying face still stuck in his mind. His animated, fanatic voice still lingered on in his head.

 _"You freed it, Vincent. You gave it breath. And now... it must be fed. "_

Vincent inhaled a deep breath and stepped into the church.

He thought it had gone from his life when Eva was taken away… but because of him, it had found its way back into the city and he hadn't the faintest idea how. This thing they were up against, it wanted a sacrifice. Sacrifice would give it power and today, if he and Marcel hadn't gotten there in time to undo the spell, those five kids may not have made it to see the dawn.

He needed to cast a cleansing spell on the New Orleans soil and fast. To purify the city of any darkness which was roaming within its walls… and purify any children which had been touched by its evil.

Hope Mikaelson had been one of those afflicted tonight. Before he had performed the reversal, the children had all been bound to the zealot's sacrificial spell. They were being drained by it, linked together… to be sacrificed together.

He closed his eyes as Marcel's desperate question floated back through his mind. A question which Vincent had known the answer to all too well.

 _"Why Hope? Huh? Why choose a kid that's probably 1,000 miles away?"_

 _"Cause she's a special witch; she's from a special bloodline. She's powerful. She was born here in the Quarter… I mean, a sacrifice like that is something that's gonna be rewarded."_

Vincent sank down into the nearest pew, staring unseeingly up at the alter ahead. His past was catching up to him, the return of something evil, the _same_ evil which had corrupted his wife Eva, had destroyed their unborn child. Eva couldn't resist the darkest desires of her mind. She didn't have the strength to walk away from it like he had.

He could still remember her final haunting words to him before they dragged her away to the Fauline Cottage. She had laughed through dark and crazed breaths.

 _"What lives in me lives in you. Bitter hunger clawing at your insides. It's still there. And you'll be the one who gives it breath. You got away because it let you. Because it needs you for later. It's still churning in the soil of this city. It's beating in the hearts of your people. It will be fed, and it will be set free. We will all be set free."_

Vincent blinked back into focus, subtly wiping a tear from his eye.

"Shall I return when you finally turn off the waterworks or can you hold them back long enough for me to speak?"

A dark figure stood still by the entrance door, her features overshadowed by the night outside and Vincent warily slid out of his pew and stood up, meeting her steady gaze head on.

"What are you?" he demanded, his magic on instant edge at the feeling of a cold emptiness surrounding her. His voice echoed around the deserted church. "What do you want?"

The figure just sighed. The sound seemed exaggerated, almost bored. Then she began to walk, her strides unfaltering as she closed the distance between them and although she appeared normal, Vincent still watched her with blatant unease, his magic ready to strike, anticipating an attack.

"I need to talk to you alone, no witnesses… no interruptions. I have some information that might be of use to you… recognise this?" She threw something towards him and Vincent automatically caught it. His heart lurched as he turned the book over.

"I told Marcel to keep this away from me…" he uttered, fixating blankly on the familiar circular serpent symbol. With trembling hands he opened it up, expecting to see his familiar script. But the writing inside was not his. His head shot up. "Where did you get this?" he whispered, his voice almost a quiver.

"Same way you did I suspect," the woman replied tonelessly as Vincent sank back down into the pew, gripping the book loosely. "It showed up one day… to a young witch who craved more power. And inside was all her spells… yet she couldn't remember writin' a single word down."

She sat down beside him, her ash brown hair rippling as she tilted her head back to stare up at the ceiling. "This thing called itself the Hollow. Void of anythin' pure, very unoriginal name if you ask me. I encountered it back in the Midwest... I was just a child back then… feels like a long time ago."

She shook her head and mildly mused, "It's quite the extraordinary being. Can manipulate even the best of people to commit so _many_ atrocities."

Her head lowered and her mouth curved up at Vincent's attentive expression. The regent was grasping onto her story, word for world.

"Though I managed to kill that one, you…" she trailed off and tutted despondently, "not so much."

"What do you - tell me what the hell it is that you know," Vincent commanded. His magic swirled up around him, prepared to use force if necessary. To protect those kids and everything he held dear in his city.

"I can tell that you're an amateur," she responded, utterly unphased by his veiled threat. "Cause once it starts, it won't stop. It'll do anythin' to live again... and its followers will do anythin' to make it so."

Smoky blue eyes glinted in the dim light as she lightly patronised, "You made your first mistake tonight. You should have kept those kids under lock and key." Mocking confusion covered her face and she tapped her finger once on her chin as she pondered, "Where are they again?"

Vincent shot to his feet.

* * *

The ambulance sped along the winding road, driving back into the city of New Orleans. In the back of the vehicle, the four missing kids sat in silence, large blankets wrapped around their bodies to comfort them from their recent shock.

A flash of blue and red lights caused the paramedic to bring the vehicle careening to an abrupt halt. Killing the engine, he slid out of the driver's seat and towards the police car blocking the road.

A man had exited the car and was walking towards him, his shirt and tie seemed slightly unkempt but recognising the familiar badge glinting on his chest, the paramedic smiled with relief. He opened his mouth, ready to direct him to the kidnapper's base.

The policeman raised his arm and struck. One swift, sharp movement. Blood spewed from the paramedic's throat. He crumpled to the ground, glassy eyes unseeing. The policeman spared him no second glance as he jumped up into the ambulance and started the engine.

"It's okay, kids," Detective Will Kinney twisted his head to reassure the white, worried faces staring back at him. "Everything's gonna be fine."

Siren horns blasted through the night.

* * *

 **Hope you liked it! Let me know what you think!**

 **Until next time. :D**

 **Reviews:**  
AugustRrush: I'm so glad you're enjoying it! Hope you liked the update. :D  
Shiko-Rae: I'm so bad with those cliffhangers aren't I :). Thank you so much! Hope you enjoyed the update!  
Dark-Supernatural-Angel: The second part is here and I didn't keep you waiting too long! Hope you liked the Dean and Rebekah scene and even though she's leaving, hopefully they'll find their way back to each other in time… they just need to sort out their own lives first :). Now you know where Grace is too, never too far away from Sam like he said and now that the Mikaelsons and the Winchesters are returning to New Orleans it won't take too long for them to run into each other I'd suspect. Hope is definitely wary of Sam, we'll see that play out soon! Castiel was mentioned - hopefully he'll show up soon… Happy New Year too!  
aurora. starr. w20: Thank you! Hope you liked the update! :D


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